This ostrich farm survived wildfires. Now, avian flu means 400 birds need to be culled [Video]

An ostrich farm in B.C.’s West Kootenay has been ordered to cull its entire herd of 400 birds after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the presence of avian flu there. 

Universal Ostrich has been told to get rid of its birds by Feb. 1, according to Katie Pasitney, who has operated the Edgewood, B.C., farm along with her mother and business partner for over 35 years.

In the CFIA’s letter to the farm, shared with CBC News, the agency says it issued the cull order on Dec. 31 following an avian flu detection earlier that month. CFIA says it follows the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in classifying the ostriches as “poultry.”

The order comes as highly pathogenic avian flu (the H5N1 variant) continues to spread in Canada, impacting more than 15 million domestic birds, an unknown number of wild birds, and even some dairy cattle and people.

But Pasitney says her ostriches present little risk to the wider population, …