B.C. ostrich farm is ‘ground zero for change’ as family reels from shooting cull

EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — With the flock of several hundred ostriches on the British Columbia farm co-owned by her mother shot dead in a cull ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Katie Pasitney said she is focused on creating change for other farmers.

Standing on the highway overlooking the field where the cull took place Thursday night, Pasitney said the CFIA’s so-called stamping-out policy is “broken” as it fails to prevent mounting outbreaks of avian influenza in B.C. and other parts of Canada.

She said the farm near Edgewood in southeastern B.C. is “ground zero for change” in outbreak response, but added her family will “never recover from this.”

“The gunfire all last night was overwhelming,” she said in an interview Friday.

“Our hearts are empty.”

The owners of Universal Ostrich Farms had been fighting the cull order issued during an avian flu outbreak last New Year’s Eve, but their hopes were dashed Thursday as the Supreme Court of Canada said it would not hear their case.

The cull went ahead that night in cold, drenching rain, with sounds of gunfire starting at about 6 p.m. from inside a large hay-bale pen built when CFIA officials arrived to take control of the ostriches and their enclosure in September.

The shooting continued into the night, a method Pasitney describes as inhumane.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a chicken or a 35-year-old ostrich, no animal should have to die inhumanely, neglected, tortured,” she said.

A statement from the CFIA said using “professional marksmen” was the “most appropriate and humane option” to kill the flock of about 300 to 330 birds.

A CFIA manual on culling procedures, which the agency had previously said contained “best practices,” describes shooting as a method of “last resort.”

The agency has said its stamping-out policy for avian flu is necessary to protect human and animal health, as well as access to international trade, pointing to Canada’s $6.8 billion domestic poultry industry and $1.75 billion in exports.

“This supports Canadian families and poultry farmers whose livelihoods depend on maintaining international market access,” the CFIA said in a statement.

Some of the workers who could be seen near the hay-bale enclosure where the cull took place did not appear to be wearing protective clothing, Pasitney noted, saying it showed there was “no rhyme (or) reason” to the CFIA’s operation.

Her voice filled with emotion as she described her father, who uses a wheelchair, crying because he felt he couldn’t protect his family and their ostriches.

“In a way I feel like I failed ’cause I couldn’t protect my mum,” she said through tears as dead ostriches were loaded into metal containers in the field behind her.

Pasitney said her mother, Karen Espersen, used to walk out the front door every morning to care for the flock, but with the cull, she has “lost everything.”

Workers in white protective suits began disposing of the birds’ carcasses on Friday, though the view was largely obstructed by the hay-bale enclosure.

Still, a machine with a front shovel could be seen dumping the ostriches into containers that were taken by truck to a staging area a short distance away.

On Friday night, a handful of the farm’s supporters gathered at the area, where RCMP officers were stationed to protect the CFIA operation.

But by 7:30 a.m. Saturday, the trucks hauling the unmarked blue containers carrying the ostriches were gone and just a small number of RCMP vehicles remained.

RCMP officers continue to be stationed at the farm, called in for weeklong stints from all over B.C.

The hay-bale enclosure appeared empty and just one supporter of the farm stood at the side of the highway livestreaming the scene on social media.

“Our land that had so much life 24 hours ago is a cold, empty shell,” Pasitney said.

“We’re going to use that as motivation and we’re going to change Canada.”

The CFIA said in a statement released Saturday that it has “completed the disposal activities” at the farm without offering details about the exact procedure.

“The disposal followed all biosecurity and biocontainment protocols to mitigate the spread of (highly pathogenic avian influenza),” it reads. “The final count of birds on the farm was 314.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2025.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press