U.S. Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has talked to Canadian well being officers about sparing a flock of ostriches in British Columbia which have been ordered killed resulting from avian flu fears.
In a press release posted to X, Kennedy says that he spoke with Canadian Meals Inspection Company (CFIA) president Paul MacKinnon on Thursday to debate the destiny of the roughly 400 ostriches at Common Ostrich in Edgewood, B.C. the place avian flu was detected in two lifeless birds in December 2024.
In a letter to MacKinnon and posted to X, Kennedy reiterates that he’s “respectfully requesting” the CFIA “think about not culling your entire flock of ostriches,” arguing “we imagine there may be important worth in learning this inhabitants.”
WATCH | Supporters collect at ostrich farm slated for cull:
Protesters be a part of B.C. ostrich farmers to combat order to cull flock
Demonstrators are gathering at Common Ostrich farm in Edgewood, B.C., to protest a federal order to cull a flock of practically 400 after two ostriches examined optimistic for avian flu in December. The farm misplaced a courtroom problem in opposition to the cull order final week.
Among the many causes cited is the long-lived nature of the ostriches, and the chance that they could maintain details about antibodies to avian flu.
He goes on to jot down that the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies, the Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH) and the Meals and Drug Administration Company (FDA) would offer their “full assist and help” in conducting the testing and analysis proposed.
The letter, signed by Kennedy in addition to NIH director Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary states that whereas the U.S. officers perceive the significance of stopping the unfold of avian flu, they imagine there may be restricted worth in killing the surviving birds at Common Ostrich practically six months after the final chicken believed to be contaminated with avian flu died.
It additionally warns in opposition to a coverage of killing all birds in each flock contaminated, given the widespread nature of avian flu in wild chicken populations.
It is not the primary time Kennedy has weighed in on the case, having beforehand been requested about it throughout an intervinew on a New York radio present and telling the host he was “horrified by the thought that they’re going to kill these animals.”
CFIA has mentioned cull will transfer ahead
CBC Information has reached out the CFIA for a response.
Earlier within the day, the company offered CBC Information with a press release indicating the cull can be shifting ahead and it might not be retesting the birds. Nor wouldn’t it think about an expemtion for its “stamping out” coverage, which is utilized to all “home poultry” flocks the place avian flu is detected, which incorporates ostriches and emus together with geese, chickens, and turkeys.
“Below Canada’s stamping out coverage, all home birds at an contaminated premises are depopulated to manage the chance of additional unfold,” the spokesperson wrote.
Court docket paperwork have proven that the CFIA had offered Common Ostrich with the process for making use of for an exemption however that it failed to satisfy the requirements required, which might contain proof that the birds have been thought-about uncommon or distinctive sufficient to be spared. Strategies of proving this embody breeding books, recognition from an authorized breed affiliation or the poultry trade, or particular genomic testing, which the farm couldn’t present.
Katie Pasitney watches the ostriches on her mom’s farm, Common Ostrich, on Might 21, 2025. (Camille Vernet/Radio-Canada)
Just one exemption to a cull order has been granted in Canada, in a 2022 case of a turkey farm the place avian flu had been detected in two barns however not others on the premises, as a result of these animals had been stored separate and security measures had been taken to stop the doable unfold of illness between the totally different buildings — circumstances that don’t exist at Common Ostrich the place inspectors noticed wild birds, weasels and “unauthorized people” strolling amongst contaminated animals, in violation of quarantine coverage.
In that earlier assertion, the CFIA says the coverage is constructed on the requirements of the World Organisation for Animal Well being and states {that a} “single laboratory confirmed case of H5 avian influenza is enough to declare a premises contaminated, given how simply the illness can unfold to different birds.”
It says within the case of Common Ostrich farm, the illness was confirmed by means of the gathering of duplicate samples of two lately deceased birds.
Supporters collect
The farm has attracted many supporters from Canada and internationally, a number of dozen of whom have stationed themselves on the property following a Might 13 federal courtroom ruling stating that the cull may transfer ahead.
The choose in that ruling didn’t weigh in on the scientific arguments of the case, ruling that the CFIA has a mandate from the federal authorities to deal with instances like culls, and it might be inappropriate for the judiciary to get entangled.
Indicators and a prop put up by supporters of Common Ostrich. (Camille Vernet/Radio-Canada)
As a substitute, the ruling mentioned the CFIA had adopted the right channels and insurance policies in making its resolution.
The CFIA argued that its insurance policies are primarily based on scientific analysis, in addition to Canada’s worldwide obligations to attempt to stop avian flu from mutating and spreading additional, doubtlessly making it extra harmful to each people and animals.
A number of politicians, together with B.C. Premier David Eby, have expressed frustration that the CFIA has not carried out extra flexibility on the person case.
Jordan Kealy, an impartial MLA and farmer who visited Common Ostrich, informed CBC Information many individuals who increase livestock are involved concerning the stamping out coverage, arguing that given avian flu has unfold so broadly into wild birds it’s practically unimaginable to stop doable an infection whereas nonetheless permitting animals to work together with the surface world.
Nonetheless, the CFIA says it acknowledges each the financial and emotional affect of culls, which is why it gives compensation for any animals killed — as much as $3,000 per animal within the case of ostriches.
Tough resolution: professor
Fiona Brinkman, a professor at Simon Fraser College’s division of molecular biology and biochemistry, informed CBC Information after the courtroom resolution that the CFIA is in a troublesome place within the face of a extremely infectious illness which impacts not simply birds but in addition mammals, together with people.
“It is a actually robust one,” she mentioned in an interview with CBC Dawn South host Chris Walker. “That is in the end a tragedy of a pathogen that’s now a risk to a number of industries and plenty of animals.”
The best concern, she mentioned, is {that a} new variant of avian flu may mutate that’s much more harmful to animals and people.
However, she mentioned, she had hoped the CFIA would conduct new checks on the ostriches now that a lot time has handed for the reason that preliminary cull order was given.
“I do hope they are going to do some bit extra investigation,” she mentioned.
LISTEN | Biology professor weighs in on ostrich cull order:
Dawn South7:44B.C. professor thinks CFIA ought to gather extra information earlier than implementing an order to cull a herd of ostriches
Fiona Brinkman is a professor at Simon Fraser College’s division of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. She weighs in on the order to cull a herd of ostriches in southwest B.C.
Brinkman famous that for many home flocks of birds, the mortality fee as soon as avian flu is detected is upwards of 90 per cent however that was not the case for ostriches, with the bulk nonetheless alive. Nonetheless, that additionally meant the virus may “linger” within the birds for an extended time frame, doubtlessly spreading to wild flocks.
“There’s an actual downside with the birds not with the ability to be sheltered,” she mentioned. “Poultry, for instance, you’ll be able to put them in a barn. That is not acceptable for ostriches.”
