A contentious cull order targeting an ostrich flock in a secluded British Columbia community has been temporarily halted by the Supreme Court of Canada.
There is no reason to destroy these healthy birds. They did have some die from the avian flu but the others recovered and are healthy and strong. Why is it that the CFIA will not let the farmers have the birds retested? These birds haven't been sold for meat nor have their eggs been sold for five years now so why should the CFIA even be involved? There's no potential harm for Canadians.
These ostriches are being used for valuable research with a Japanese scientist for possible treatments for avian flu (antibodies in the eggs or something like that). Guess what? That means the bird flu vaccines wouldn't be necessary. I see the hand of big pharma in this.
Why is it that there these pharmaceutical companies have such a strong hold and influence on our Canadian politicians and especially unelected bureaucrats?
Another point is that these birds would be so expensive to be replaced and would the government compensate them the $500-$1000 each it would cost? I looked it up and ostriches can live 45-50 years (some of these are nearly 30 and the farmer's daughter has grown up with many of them) and therefore I believe that means these birds are not likely to easily succumb when illness comes up. In fact, it was younger ones that died last time and the others will have built up immunity.
Finally Juno has responded to what is one of the biggest issues in Canada right now! There is so much more information on this that you could provide to your readers like the research that has been done on these ostriches for natural immunity & how the world is decrying this move to kill these birds. Universities in the U.S. & Japan are advocating for the farm & for all the research these “healthy” birds can provide. Come on Juno, I was expecting way more from you on this. The entire country has rallied behind this farm & our PM is being updated twice a day as to what’s happening. Your reporting is really lacking something with such significance. Please make this more of a priority in your news. It’s of such great importance to our country & the world & believe me, the world is watching!
Well said - I have not followed the story with all the details, but I certainly knew more than Juno was telling me in this article. I was waiting for the author to explain the antibodies in the eggs, et cetera and Nada.!
Maybe they're waiting till they have all the facts....unlike the CBC...before they put out a full report. Truth is worth waiting for...unlike the CBC. Where's Eby in all of this. He could be doing something
On December 31st, 2024, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued the cull order for all of the 399 ostriches residing at the Universal Ostrich Farm (UOF) remotely located in central British Columbia near Edgewood. This was based on positive PCR results from two dead birds tested for the H5 gene of influenza virus within 41 minutes of the agency’s notification of the results from a local testing lab in BC. This was despite a lack of data that the influenza virus was positive for the N1 gene or that it was in fact a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus. Subsequent full genome sequencing confirmed that the recovered virus was a hybrid mix of high and low pathogenicity H5N1 virus. It is likely that such a mixing of influenza genes would typically result in reduced pathogenicity in the hybrid. HPAI typically kills about 85% of an infected bird flock, whereas only 15% of the UOF ostriches succumbed to the disease. By January 15, 2025, there was no further evidence of sickness from the H5N1 virus in the UOF flock. Nine months later, the ostriches have remained healthy and disease free.
While the ostriches presently offer no threat to each other, wild birds, other animals and people, the CFIA has maintained in court proceedings with their experts that the ostriches may be still be asymptomatic and shedding active virus. Yet, the CFIA has forbidden testing of the ostriches to support this highly unlikely hypothesis. Moreover, the agency has expressed concerns that the soil of the UOF may also contain active virus that could infect other wild birds even a year later. Such claims are based on a single study of highly filtered water (which removed any other viruses, fungi or other microbes above 200 microns in size) that was kept in the dark and near freezing temperature for only up to a year. It did not represent real-life conditions where sunlight with uv and microbial action in soils would quickly degrade an influenza viral particle.
It is also noteworthy that despite the roosting and fouling of hundreds of school yards and parks in BC by hundreds of thousands of wild migratory ducks and geese infected with HPAI, there have been no government warnings about the risk of H5N1 influenza to humans and pets from their excrement in the past few years. This is for good reason, because the chances of spread of influenza in this way is exceedingly low.
Over the last 4 years, there has been 533 Canadian outbreaks of avian influenza mainly at commercial poultry operations. Imposition of the stamping-out policy by CFIA has resulted in the destruction of at least 14.46 million domestic fowl on farms in Canada. The claim has also been made by the CFIA that this policy remains the only viable strategy to control the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. This is despite the option that the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) allows for regaining of “disease-free” status after one year for a zone if an HPAI infection is allowed to “burn-out” instead of being stamped-out. The UOF is located in its own zone, so the outbreak at this farm has not materially affected the poultry industry international trade for other farms in BC or elsewhere in Canada.
The CFIA has claimed that the H5N1 virus genome sequenced from the genetic material recovered from two of the dead ostriches from the UOF represent a unique assortment of low and high pathogenicity virus, and proceeded to make the unsubstantiated and unlikely claim that this hybrid virus may permit infection and sickness of other species such as humans, when in fact the sequencing studies demonstrated that any mutation that might permit this was not actually found in the sequence of the recovered virus. In the courts, CFIA experts revealed under cross-examination that there have actually been about a hundred cases of reassortment of the H5N1 virus recovered from the outbreaks of the virus on commercial poultry farms in Canada in the last few years. These reassortments clearly developed in the wild bird population and not in the limited number of commercial birds that were tested on farms in Canada, since this is normally a very rare event and would have to be occurring within a large population of birds.
The CFIA has admitted on their website that “there is no evidence to suggest that eating cooked poultry or eggs could transmit the virus to humans.” In fact, with the current HPAI pandemic that started in 2021, there has only been one H5N1 case in a person in Canada, who was a 13-year-old BC girl that recovered. There have been about 70 cases of H5N1 in the US during this time with only one fatality in a 65-year-old male with comorbidities. Most US cases were mild, and arose in dairy rather than poultry farm workers. Nevertheless, the CFIA has argued that nearly half of the people that have been historically infected with H5N1 have died, which is based on data from decades prior to 2020. However, between 2003 and 2014, there were only 407 human fatalities associated with 701 confirmed H5N1 infections world-wide, of which 89% of the deaths were recorded from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Egypt.
Recently, the provincial ministry of agriculture in BC has created a 2.5 million-dollar fund for Fraser Valley poultry farms to install air filters and uv lights to protect their birds from HPAI. One of the applications that was being studied with a UOF research collaborator from Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan was the development of anti-spike antibody-coated air filters and masks that could capture the SARS-CoV-2 virus and detect the presence of the pathogen. With the recovery of the UOF ostriches from H5N1 influenza virus, these birds and their eggs are likely to be replete with antibodies against the virus, which could be used to coat air filters and masks to protect the commercial bird flocks and their handlers. Testing by Kinexus Bioinformatics Corporation in Vancouver of UOF ostrich egg yolks recovered in the summer of 2024 has confirmed that the ostriches possessed antibodies, likely from previous exposures to H5N1 influenza viruses.
This is one of the dumbest stories I have ever heard. The birds were being raised for meat. If the moron farmers hadn’t let them get infected with a dangerous human-transferable virus then they would have been slaughtered for burgers or something. Now they claim they are pets - for medical research or something. Canadians expect the food system to be safe. These assholes are endangering our food supply and worse- they could be breeding a new pandemic. Remember this class of virus killed 50 million people in just over a year n 1918. Kill the lot of them now! Burn the carcasses. And who the fuck would ever eat Ostrich meat ever again. Not only are they assholes, they have poisoned the well for other farmers. Fuck them!
There is no reason to destroy these healthy birds. They did have some die from the avian flu but the others recovered and are healthy and strong. Why is it that the CFIA will not let the farmers have the birds retested? These birds haven't been sold for meat nor have their eggs been sold for five years now so why should the CFIA even be involved? There's no potential harm for Canadians.
These ostriches are being used for valuable research with a Japanese scientist for possible treatments for avian flu (antibodies in the eggs or something like that). Guess what? That means the bird flu vaccines wouldn't be necessary. I see the hand of big pharma in this.
Why is it that there these pharmaceutical companies have such a strong hold and influence on our Canadian politicians and especially unelected bureaucrats?
Another point is that these birds would be so expensive to be replaced and would the government compensate them the $500-$1000 each it would cost? I looked it up and ostriches can live 45-50 years (some of these are nearly 30 and the farmer's daughter has grown up with many of them) and therefore I believe that means these birds are not likely to easily succumb when illness comes up. In fact, it was younger ones that died last time and the others will have built up immunity.
Finally Juno has responded to what is one of the biggest issues in Canada right now! There is so much more information on this that you could provide to your readers like the research that has been done on these ostriches for natural immunity & how the world is decrying this move to kill these birds. Universities in the U.S. & Japan are advocating for the farm & for all the research these “healthy” birds can provide. Come on Juno, I was expecting way more from you on this. The entire country has rallied behind this farm & our PM is being updated twice a day as to what’s happening. Your reporting is really lacking something with such significance. Please make this more of a priority in your news. It’s of such great importance to our country & the world & believe me, the world is watching!
Well said - I have not followed the story with all the details, but I certainly knew more than Juno was telling me in this article. I was waiting for the author to explain the antibodies in the eggs, et cetera and Nada.!
Maybe they're waiting till they have all the facts....unlike the CBC...before they put out a full report. Truth is worth waiting for...unlike the CBC. Where's Eby in all of this. He could be doing something
On December 31st, 2024, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued the cull order for all of the 399 ostriches residing at the Universal Ostrich Farm (UOF) remotely located in central British Columbia near Edgewood. This was based on positive PCR results from two dead birds tested for the H5 gene of influenza virus within 41 minutes of the agency’s notification of the results from a local testing lab in BC. This was despite a lack of data that the influenza virus was positive for the N1 gene or that it was in fact a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus. Subsequent full genome sequencing confirmed that the recovered virus was a hybrid mix of high and low pathogenicity H5N1 virus. It is likely that such a mixing of influenza genes would typically result in reduced pathogenicity in the hybrid. HPAI typically kills about 85% of an infected bird flock, whereas only 15% of the UOF ostriches succumbed to the disease. By January 15, 2025, there was no further evidence of sickness from the H5N1 virus in the UOF flock. Nine months later, the ostriches have remained healthy and disease free.
While the ostriches presently offer no threat to each other, wild birds, other animals and people, the CFIA has maintained in court proceedings with their experts that the ostriches may be still be asymptomatic and shedding active virus. Yet, the CFIA has forbidden testing of the ostriches to support this highly unlikely hypothesis. Moreover, the agency has expressed concerns that the soil of the UOF may also contain active virus that could infect other wild birds even a year later. Such claims are based on a single study of highly filtered water (which removed any other viruses, fungi or other microbes above 200 microns in size) that was kept in the dark and near freezing temperature for only up to a year. It did not represent real-life conditions where sunlight with uv and microbial action in soils would quickly degrade an influenza viral particle.
It is also noteworthy that despite the roosting and fouling of hundreds of school yards and parks in BC by hundreds of thousands of wild migratory ducks and geese infected with HPAI, there have been no government warnings about the risk of H5N1 influenza to humans and pets from their excrement in the past few years. This is for good reason, because the chances of spread of influenza in this way is exceedingly low.
Over the last 4 years, there has been 533 Canadian outbreaks of avian influenza mainly at commercial poultry operations. Imposition of the stamping-out policy by CFIA has resulted in the destruction of at least 14.46 million domestic fowl on farms in Canada. The claim has also been made by the CFIA that this policy remains the only viable strategy to control the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. This is despite the option that the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) allows for regaining of “disease-free” status after one year for a zone if an HPAI infection is allowed to “burn-out” instead of being stamped-out. The UOF is located in its own zone, so the outbreak at this farm has not materially affected the poultry industry international trade for other farms in BC or elsewhere in Canada.
The CFIA has claimed that the H5N1 virus genome sequenced from the genetic material recovered from two of the dead ostriches from the UOF represent a unique assortment of low and high pathogenicity virus, and proceeded to make the unsubstantiated and unlikely claim that this hybrid virus may permit infection and sickness of other species such as humans, when in fact the sequencing studies demonstrated that any mutation that might permit this was not actually found in the sequence of the recovered virus. In the courts, CFIA experts revealed under cross-examination that there have actually been about a hundred cases of reassortment of the H5N1 virus recovered from the outbreaks of the virus on commercial poultry farms in Canada in the last few years. These reassortments clearly developed in the wild bird population and not in the limited number of commercial birds that were tested on farms in Canada, since this is normally a very rare event and would have to be occurring within a large population of birds.
The CFIA has admitted on their website that “there is no evidence to suggest that eating cooked poultry or eggs could transmit the virus to humans.” In fact, with the current HPAI pandemic that started in 2021, there has only been one H5N1 case in a person in Canada, who was a 13-year-old BC girl that recovered. There have been about 70 cases of H5N1 in the US during this time with only one fatality in a 65-year-old male with comorbidities. Most US cases were mild, and arose in dairy rather than poultry farm workers. Nevertheless, the CFIA has argued that nearly half of the people that have been historically infected with H5N1 have died, which is based on data from decades prior to 2020. However, between 2003 and 2014, there were only 407 human fatalities associated with 701 confirmed H5N1 infections world-wide, of which 89% of the deaths were recorded from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Egypt.
Recently, the provincial ministry of agriculture in BC has created a 2.5 million-dollar fund for Fraser Valley poultry farms to install air filters and uv lights to protect their birds from HPAI. One of the applications that was being studied with a UOF research collaborator from Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan was the development of anti-spike antibody-coated air filters and masks that could capture the SARS-CoV-2 virus and detect the presence of the pathogen. With the recovery of the UOF ostriches from H5N1 influenza virus, these birds and their eggs are likely to be replete with antibodies against the virus, which could be used to coat air filters and masks to protect the commercial bird flocks and their handlers. Testing by Kinexus Bioinformatics Corporation in Vancouver of UOF ostrich egg yolks recovered in the summer of 2024 has confirmed that the ostriches possessed antibodies, likely from previous exposures to H5N1 influenza viruses.
They are executed, the court gave no reason why, it's beneath them.
Birds MAID service 💀
Do you think the arrogant and self-important SOB bureaurats might actually have to present evidence to the Supreme Court about their decisions??
Stay tuned.
This is one of the dumbest stories I have ever heard. The birds were being raised for meat. If the moron farmers hadn’t let them get infected with a dangerous human-transferable virus then they would have been slaughtered for burgers or something. Now they claim they are pets - for medical research or something. Canadians expect the food system to be safe. These assholes are endangering our food supply and worse- they could be breeding a new pandemic. Remember this class of virus killed 50 million people in just over a year n 1918. Kill the lot of them now! Burn the carcasses. And who the fuck would ever eat Ostrich meat ever again. Not only are they assholes, they have poisoned the well for other farmers. Fuck them!