EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — The family that operates the British Columbia ostrich farm where some 400 birds face being euthanized by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says spirits remain high among protesters looking to stave off the cull.

Katie Pasitney, whose parents own Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., say about 130 protesters are at the farm, and the group is holding an “indigenous culture” prayer circle every morning.

Pasitney says the atmosphere at the farm has been “beautiful” despite the CFIA issuing a statement on Friday saying the farmers resisting the cull have not substantiated claims of scientific research on the birds that survived an avian flu outbreak.

The federal agency says the infection at the farm is a mutation of the avian flu not seen elsewhere, and the cull is still planned while the farm has been fined $20,000.

The statement is a rejection of proposals by U.S. officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calling to save the affected ostriches.

Pasitney says the farm is also working on a statement responding to what the CFIA said in its latest release in a bid to “debunk” the federal agency’s reasons for continuing the cull.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2025.