A family-run ostrich farm in British Columbia has been fined $20,000 by the federal government for failing to "adhere to quarantine orders" after avian flu was detected in the flock.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which recently began culling the birds following a lengthy court battle, said the strain of influenza was "novel" and "not seen elsewhere in Canada.""Universal Ostrich Farm has not cooperated with the requirements set out under the Health of Animals Act, including failure to report the initial cases of illness and deaths to the CFIA and failure to adhere to quarantine orders," the federal agency wrote in a statement. "Universal Ostrich Farm was issued two notices of violations with penalty, totaling $20,000."The CFIA declared that in response to "multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of H5N1and the ongoing serious risks for animal and human health, and trade," the flock of 400 birds will be slaughtered as planned..The CFIA explained that the farm could have done more to mitigate biosecurity risks by limiting wild bird access to the ostriches, building better fencing, and controlling water flow from the infected area to other parts of the farm. It was also argued that the owners did not substantiate their claims that scientific research was being carried out on the premises, and that "the current physical facilities at their location are not suitable for controlled research activities or trials."Over the past few years, the farm has sought to assist scientists at Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan with antibody research. In 2021, for example, co-owner Karen Esperson revealed that experiments with COVID-19 had shown that when inoculated with a dead COVID-19 virus, her ostriches had been able to produce antibodies in two weeks, and put them in their eggs two weeks after that.KPU's Dr. Yasuhiro Tsukamoto has touted studies such as those involving the BC farm's birds could be integral in developing antibody solutions for various diseases and allergens..On May 13, six months after the saga began, federal court upheld the order from the federal government to cull the flock, thus giving the CFIA permission to go in and start slaughtering birds..RFK Jr calls on CFIA to partner with US to save 400 BC ostriches from gov't-ordered cull.The farm and its supporters, however, have not backed down, holding protests and vowing to do all they can to stop the killing. A number of prominent figures, including US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, have come out in favour of saving the flock.As of June 2, nearly $130,000 has been raised to help.
