A convoy is expected to make its way from Vernon to a herd of ostriches in Edgewood Friday morning, in a demonstration against a controversial cull that will see the 398 birds there destroyed.
Protesters from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and throughout B.C. are converging on Vernon Thursday at the Walmart parking lot and are set to depart for the Universal Ostrich farm in Edgewood at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 30.
The ostrich farm has been making headlines since January, when the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered the cull of the entire flock of birds. That order came after the agency declared an avian influenza within the herd on Dec. 31, 2024. The cull is part of CFIA's stamping out policy that's triggered when an avian flu outbreak is declared at a farm.
"Canada’s response has aimed to protect human and animal health and minimize impacts on the $6.8 billion domestic poultry industry and Canada’s economy," the agency told The Morning Star May 27. "This supports Canadian families and poultry farmers whose livelihoods depend on maintaining international market access."
The farm has been fighting the cull order ever since it was declared. It challenged the decision in federal court in April but lost that challenge on May 13. The farm then filed an appeal on May 26.
The farm has been flooded with support from hundreds of other farmers, animal activists and Indigenous peoples who have camped out at the farm in recent weeks in opposition of the cull. Many politicians, both locally, provincially and in the U.S., are showing support, even Dr. Oz. Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee MP Scott Anderson visited Universal Ostrich in mid-May to show his support.
A protest took place in Vernon May 15 at the corner of Polson Park, with people waving signs advocating for the ostriches to be saved.
Katie Pasitney — whose mom Karen Esperson and partner Dave Bilinski co-own Universal Ostrich — previously told The Morning Star that 69 ostriches died in the initial weeks after the outbreak, but the flock has since developed herd immunity.
Anderson said earlier this month his team was working on a plan to save the ostriches while satisfying the CFIA's requirements, adding the birds are being used as "valuable research subjects."
The CFIA says it "has a duty to protect Canadians from the serious potential risks that avian influenza presents to our people and our economy."
The convoy is expected to arrive at Universal Ostrich around 12:30 p.m. May 30.
— With files from Jennifer Smith
