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Substack, Shirley Guertin, May 26, 2025
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) enforces policies under the Health of Animals Act that allow unannounced inspections and rapid livestock culling without farmer recourse.
Suspected H5 avian influenza triggers immediate testing and, often within 48 hours, mass culling (“depopulation”) of entire flocks—sometimes based on just a few sick birds.
The CFIA uses private contractors for culling, employing methods like CO₂ gassing or neck-breaking, with costs like $4.2 million for CO₂ in late 2024.
Farmers face high-pressure interviews, no appeal rights, and must handle cleanup alone, with expensive decontamination processes. Compensation is partial, delayed, and excludes losses like future revenue or emotional distress.
Since 2022, over 14.5 million birds have been culled in Canada, mostly in British Columbia, often without visible illness.
This Is Not Sustainable. Not for our food system. Not for animals. Not for farmers.
The process is criticized as inhumane, unsustainable, and destructive to farmers’ livelihoods. Alternatives like quarantine, better surveillance, or independent oversight are urged to replace the current protocol, which feels like systemic destruction rather than disease control.
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Canada’s Hidden Farm Crisis – by Shirley Guertin
