CFIA Says BC Ostrich Cull Will Go Ahead, Despite Intervention From RFK Jr.

A sign calling for the protection of ostriches at the Universal Ostrich Farms is displayed at the farm in Edgewood, B.C., on May 17, 2024. The Canadian Press/Aaron Hemens

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it will go ahead with a cull of ostriches from a farm in Edgewood, B.C., despite a request from United States Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that they be spared.

Kennedy had posted a letter on social media on Friday addressed to CFIA President Paul MacKinnon, saying there is “significant value” studying the ostriches’ immune response to avian flu and asking the agency to partner in a study of the birds.