Canadian federal agency says cull over, all ostriches shot dead at British Columbia farm

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EDGEWOOD, British Columbia (AP) — A Canadian federal agency said Friday it has shot dead all ostriches at a British Columbia farm, fulfilling a 10-month-old cull order over a bird flu outbreak.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a news release on Friday a professional marksman was used and it was done in a humane way.

Owners of the farm in the southern interior community of Edgewood, British Columbia have been fighting the order in the courts, arguing the surviving ostriches show no signs of illness and should be spared.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent a letter to the president of the CFIA urging him to reconsider destroying the birds. Separately, Dr. Mehmet Oz, former TV personality and current administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, offered his Florida ranch to relocate the animals.

A holding pen that was filled with ostriches on Thursday appeared still and empty of live birds on Friday, and no ostriches could be seen anywhere else on the property.

Instead, the pen where the shootings took place was filled with long blue tarpaulins covering objects on the ground that were also shrouded with black sheeting.

The CFIA, which numbered the flock at between 300 to 330 birds, said the shootings were completed under veterinary supervision.

The Supreme Court of Canada announced it had declined to hear the final appeal, lifting any impediment to the cull.

The shooting began under darkness around 6 p.m. on Thursday, with multiple shots in quick succession.

Farm supporter Janice Tyndall, 72, said she listened to it intermittently for a couple hours before she “couldn’t stomach it anymore” and left the scene.

Farm spokeswoman Katie Pasitney, whose mother Karen Espersen co-owns the property, said in a Facebook post Friday that they were “broken and can’t imagine the suffering last night. We can’t get out of bed.”

The farm’s owners have said the cull was unnecessary because the flock was healthy and had “herd immunity,” making them valuable for scientific research, while requesting that the birds be tested for infection.

But the CFIA refused, saying ostriches that appear healthy can still be a potential source of the virus and allowing the flock to live increased the risk the virus would dangerously mutate, particularly if the birds were exposed to wildlife.

The farmers are eligible for up to $3,000 Canadian (US$2,136) per ostrich in compensation, according to the CFIA.