Letter to the Editor
This is a copy of a letter sent to new Minister of Agriculture Heath MacDonald.
Congratulations on your appointment as our new Minister of Agriculture on May 13.
May 13 is significant to many across Canada, not only in regards to our newly appointed cabinet members but also relating to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. That was the date that Federal Court Justice Russell Zinn ruled that the CFIA was within its legal parameters to proceed with a cull of 399 ostriches located on a small farm near Edgewood, BC.
Sometime last fall a flock of wild ducks settled on a pond located on the farm. Later, two young ostriches became ill and subsequently died. CFIA took samples from the two dead birds and when the results of the test came back positive for the avian flu virus , they ordered the entire herd culled. About 15 per cent of the herd, mostly young birds, had died by January 14. Since then, none have died and all remaining appear to be healthy. The farmers, of course, are protesting the cull and would like further testing of their birds, but CFIA has ordered no additional testing be done under threat of a $200,000 fine and/or six months in jail. I know, this does sound preposterous but unfortunately it is true.
I am writing to implore you to review this family’s tragic situation. Please take the time to log onto the “official statement from Universal Farms Inc., May 21, 2025 – Save our ostriches.”
Barrie Hawes, Radium Hot Springs
