Three MLAs are supporting a B.C. farming family whose 400 ostriches are to be culled

CTV News | The Canadian Press, May 8, 2025

The battle over a B.C. farm facing a mandated cull made its way to the legislature Thursday.

VICTORIA — A member of an ostrich farming family held back tears as she called on the provincial government to help stop the cull of their 400 birds.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the cull in late 2024 after an avian flu outbreak, but family spokesperson Katie Pasitney says the animals living on her parents’ farm in Edgewood, B.C., are “healthy” and “happy” now and pose no risk.

Pasitney says the birds are her family’s livelihood and having to kill them would be catastrophic.

Pasitney is in Victoria meeting provincial officials, including B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham, and is receiving support from three former Conservative MLAs, who are now sitting as independents.

The family and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are waiting on a Federal Court judge to rule on the fate of the animals.

Credible reports indicate that the Ootischenia Landfill, under the jurisdiction of the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK), is preparing to bury approximately 400 ostrich carcasses, totaling 140,000 pounds of biological material, from a remote farm in Edgewood, British Columbia, before a judicial decision has been made. This action raises significant environmental, public health, and legal concerns.