(UPDATE: Sept. 24 @ 12:45 pm) - Despair turned to joy at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood today.
After a chaotic 48 hours that saw tensions rise between supporters of the BC ostrich farm and enforcement officials with the RCMP and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the Supreme Court of Canada stepped in this morning.
The high court issued an interim stay of proceedings on the CFIA's December 2024 order to cull the flock of 400 ostriches after an outbreak of avian influenza that killed nearly 70 birds.
The order, provided to NowMedia by the farm's lawyer Umar Sheikh, declares a temporary halt on the CFIA's "stamping-out policy" until the Supreme Court makes a decision on a leave to appeal regardng a lower court decision that allowed the cull to proceed.
It adds that the CFIA will maintain custody of the birds in the meantime and the farm must not interfere with that federal oversight until the ruling is made.
The CFIA has until Oct. 3 to reply to the application. After those filings, the farm will have two days to provide a final response for the Supreme Court to make a final decision.
"They're safe today," Katie Patisney said in a Facebook today, adding in another video that "it's miracle Wednesday."
Patisney, a spokesperson for the ostrich farm, and her mother Karen Esperson, who co-owns the farm alongside Dave Bilinski, were arrested by RCMP officers Tuesday for allegedly obstructing CFIA agents from performing their duties.
The RCMP is also investigating a fire that broke out at the property shortly before 4 am today.
"Upon arrival, bales of hay were found to be fully engulfed in flames and smoke," a police news bulletin stated.
According to various reports from the property, the hay bales involved in the fire were the ones set up in the form of a wall as part of the planned ostrich cull.
"The fire crew was able to contain the fire after several hours," the bulletin added. "The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, which is believed to be suspicious."
The RCMP once again emphasized that the CFIA is the lead agency in the dispute and police officers are "an impartial party" committed to ensuring safety and the preservation of rights.
(UPDATE: Sept. 23 @ 4:40 pm) - Tensions continue to boil over between supporters of a BC ostrich farm fighting to save hundreds of animals from being culled and law enforcement officials with the RCMP and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
The RCMP released a statement today to clarify that officers are "an impartial party" who are at Universal Ostrich Farms to "keep and peace and enforce the law" while CFIA agents perform their duties.
After obtaining a search warrant for the Edgewood farm on Sept. 3, the CFIA arrived there on Monday to begin the enforcement operation and have been met with resistance from a large number of supporters who are protesting the cull.
Police have confirmed that two people were arrested today under the Health of Animals Act for obstructing CFIA agents from performing their duties.
In a Facebook livestream posted by Thunder Amo Kerr, farm co-owner Dave Bilinski said it was his business partner Karen Esperson and her daughter Katie Pasitney, the farm's spokesperson, who were brought into custody.
According to the RCMP, both women have processed and released.
In the same livestream posted earlier today, Bilinski said trucks carrying hay bales that were to be used for the culling of the ostriches had turned around to "go home" after being met with opposition upon arrival to the farm.
He added the same was true for the disposal company, claiming both were hired by the CFIA.
Although the current status of these trucks and businesses is unknown, there's been increasing pressure on companies not to support the cull.
In several Facebook posts on various pages, including Pasitney's, supporters are coordinating to flood phone lines and email addresses of businesses believed to be to be contracted by the CFIA to assist with the cull.
The RCMP says it has received complaints from local businesses regarding "threats, intimidation and harassments."
"We are investigating these incidents and will take steps to ensure that those who unlawfully interfere with or threaten the safety of any person or property may be held accountable in accordance with the laws of Canada," the RCMP statement explains.
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Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee MP Scott Anderson, who has been a vocal supporter of the farm, took to Facebook late Monday to say the timing caught him by surprise while he's in another part of the country.
"We're continuing to work behind the scenes to convince the minister to intervene, and we'll keep trying till the last minute," his social media post said. "The senior academics I'm working with call the cull 'destruction of knowledge.' If it goes ahead I for one will remember this."
The Okanagan Humane Society also chimed in through social media, sharing a section of a letter the organization sent to the CFIA on Sunday.
The letter requests a further stay of the cull and calls for a scientific review of the case and evidence that has led to the decisions being made by the CFIA.
"The owners and residents in these communities and across the world are not being given sound, logistical reasoning for the cull and do not understand why retesting the animals is not being allowed," the letter said.
"If all the birds in the flock are healthy and there are no positive tests for Avian flu in them currently how is this justified? Respectfully please pause this order further and conduct a full review."
The situation is expected to continue escalating over the coming days and the RCMP emphasized in its statement released today that the CFIA is the lead agency in this dispute.
"We are committed to remaining impartial and are mindful of our roles and responsibilities to the public to keep the peace and be part of the solution."
(Original story: Sept. 22 @ 1:20 pm) - The RCMP and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have arrived at a farm in the Kootenays where hundreds of ostriches are set to be culled.
“Here come the RCMP, the killers, that have no appreciation for life, but maybe they will, maybe today we change that, maybe today we change that. We have convoys of police pouring in,” said Universal Ostrich Farms spokesperson Katie Pasitney in a social media post.
Pasitney then posted an interaction with a CFIA official, who explained the situation to her, stating that it will take the CFIA a few days to set up at the farm located in Edgewood, BC, a community south of Nakusp and along the Upper Arrow Lake.
In December 2024, ostriches at the farm began experiencing “flu-like symptoms,” and 25 to 30 ostriches died over a three-week period, according to court documents. The farm did not report the deaths to a CFIA-designated veterinary inspector.
Following an anonymous tip to the CFIA sick bird call line, the agency intervened on Dec. 28 and imposed quarantine measures at the farm.
On Dec. 31, 2024, the samples collected from two carcasses the previous day came back positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and were later confirmed on Jan. 3, 2025, as the H5N1 strain of HPAI, triggering a stamping-out policy.
The CFIA then issued a notice to dispose, requiring the farm to dispose of all of its ostriches by Feb. 1, 2025.
In May, the farm’s request for a judicial review of the notice to dispose and the CFIA’s denial of an exemption request was dismissed by the Federal Court.
The case then made its way to the Federal Court of Appeal, where the farm’s appeal and motion to bring fresh evidence in front of the court were denied in August.
Earlier this month, the farm made another attempt to pause the cull, but that was also dismissed.
“On September 6, 2025, this Court granted an interim stay restraining the CFIA from enforcing the notice to dispose until it rendered its decision on the stay motion on the basis of a full record and written arguments from both parties,” stated a Sept. 12 Federal Court of Appeal decision.
“Having considered the arguments of the parties and the evidence filed with the Court in support of the stay motion, and for the following reasons, I am dismissing the appellant’s motion for a stay.”
NowMedia has reached out to the RCMP for comment.
Thumbnail courtesy of Katie Pasitney/Facebook
