WARNING: This story contains some disturbing details. Discretion is advised.
Speaking for the first time since more than 300 ostriches were culled at the Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood, B.C., spokesperson Katie Pasitney said they are devastated by what happened.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) carried out the cull at the farm last week and confirmed that the flock of 300 to 330 ostriches had been shot dead.
“The RCMP did not even let us know that the gunfire was gonna start,” Patisney said.
“The RCMP locked our supporters, they blocked our road, and they locked supporters out on the highway without vehicles, without their campers, without anything that they needed out on the highway. They stranded them on the highway. So for hours, those supporters had to listen to rapid gunfire of animals that were pushed into a kill pen.“
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The owners of the farm had been fighting the cull, which was ordered after an outbreak of avian flu last December.
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On Thursday, the last legal roadblock to the cull was lifted when the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear their final appeal.
Patisney said the death of the ostriches is not the end of their fight, but the beginning of a new one about accountability.
“Our animals were gunned down in the middle of the night when they should have been resting,” she added. “They had lights shining out on people so they couldn’t see. They stood on top of these bales in huts with night vision goggles and they gunned our animals down.”
Patisney also said that the marksmen had to come back on Friday morning to kill the ostriches who were not yet dead.
However, the CFIA strongly denied these claims.
“The information shared by the UOF spokesperson is false,” the CFIA said. “Marksmen completed their work at 22:45 PST where a CFIA veterinarian then verified that depopulation was complete.
“No additional depopulation activities were required after this time on November 6 or at any later date.”
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Patisney said they do not know where the ostriches’ bodies have been taken, as they are considered biohazardous waste.
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“They don’t want to give us closure,” she added of the CFIA.
“They don’t want to be respectful and give dignity or anything to these animals that they just gun down.”
U.S. billionaire and businessman John Catsimatidis was also on the call.
Catsimatidis personally financed the farm’s legal defence, saying he has spent about $50,000 in legal fees.
He said he would like to see more politicians get involved in the issue.
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CFIA completes cull at Edgewood ostrich farm
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