Halloween is over but CFIA's witch hunt continues

OP ED by Dr David Speicher and Dr Steven Pelech

On Friday many children went door to door trick-or-treating or to Halloween parties, and the celebration ends for another year. But, the over 10-month long witch hunt in BC continues. The ostrich population at Universal Ostrich Farm (UOF) in Edgewood, BC, under the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) control for more than 6 weeks now, appears to be dwindling unexpectedly. This is despite a stay of execute of these birds until the Supreme Court of Canada delivers their decision on November 6, 2025, of whether it will be willing to consider the case where the CFIA has ordered their execution.

Over a year ago the CFIA issued a cull order for ~400 ostriches residing at UOF based on positive PCR results for the influenza virus H5 gene following testing of two birds that had been dead for over 20 hours.

At that time CFIA did not have sufficient data about the virus that infected the ostriches, such as a positive test for the N1 gene or that it was in fact a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus. Subsequent full genome sequencing confirmed that the virus was a hybrid mix of high and low pathogenicity H5N1. Such a mixing of influenza genes would typically result in reduced pathogenicity. This is evident as HPAI typically kills about 85% of an infected bird flock, whereas only 15% of the UOF flock of about 450 ostriches succumbed to the disease.

By January 15, 2025, there was no further evidence of sickness from the virus in the flock. Ten months later, the ostriches have remained healthy and disease free. Nevertheless, the CFIA has remained committed to the extermination of the ostriches despite a large public outcry and requests from the US Administration for Health and Human Services (HHS) to preserve these birds due to their scientific value.

The ostriches presently offer no threat to each other, wild birds, other animals and people. However, the CFAI has maintained in court proceedings with their experts that the ostriches may still be asymptomatic and shedding (spreading) active virus. Yet, the CFIA has forbidden testing of the ostriches to support this highly unlikely hypothesis. Moreover, the agency has expressed concerns that the soil of the UOF may also contain active virus that could infect other wild birds even a year later. Such claims are scientifically unfounded.

Ironically, the main business activity of the UOF is research using ostriches to produce antibodies against infectious diseases and other health by-products found in the eggs from these birds. The UOF had been engaged in research into the creation of antibodies against the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for COVID-19. All the COVID-19 vaccines on the market have targeted the spike protein. What makes ostriches ideal for industrial-scale antibody production is that the yolk of their large eggs is rich in a type of antibody that is uniquely highly stable to almost boiling and very acidic and basic conditions.

The typical purchase price of a full-grown ostrich is over $6,000, but if the antibodies produced in an egg are against an important target protein in research, the purified antibodies recovered from a single egg could fetch tens of thousands of dollars in the research reagent market. Ostriches can live up to 75 years, and each female can produce 30 or more eggs in a season. Many of the ostriches at the UOF are more than 30 years-old and could lay eggs for up to 55 years.

With almost anything they are immunised against, such as proteins from an infectious pathogen, they will produce antibodies in their blood and eggs that specifically target viruses, bacteria, or fungi. Such antibodies are valuable for research purposes, for development of diagnostics such as rapid antigen tests, and even therapeutic antibodies to treat an infection.

One of the applications that was being studied with a UOF research collaborator from Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan was the development of anti-spike antibody-coated air filters and masks that could capture the SARS-CoV-2 virus and detect the presence of the pathogen. With the recovery of the UOF ostriches from H5N1 influenza virus, these birds and their eggs are likely to be replete with antibodies against the virus, which could be used to coat air filters and masks to protect the commercial bird flocks and their handlers.

There are very few flocks of birds in the world in a controlled environment where the effectiveness and duration of naturally acquired immunity to the H5N1 virus can be studied. As 85% of the ostriches survived the last outbreak of H5N1 infection on the UOF site, the remaining birds clearly have natural immunity, a fact acknowledged by the CFIA. Robert Kennedy, Jr., the Director of the US HHS has reached out a few times to the Canadian Government requesting that these valuable birds be saved for their scientific importance. Even the US Government has recognised their worth, but when will the Canadian government follow suit?

The UOF is in its own zone, so the outbreak at this farm has not materially affected the poultry industry international trade for other farms in BC or elsewhere in Canada. It has been nearly ten months since any ostrich has shown signs of illness, making them “disease-free.”

Over the last 4 years, there have been 586 Canadian outbreaks of avian influenza, mainly at commercial (not research) poultry operations. The imposition of the stamping-out policy by CFIA has resulted in the destruction of at least 20 million domestic fowl on farms in Canada. That’s many jobs and incomes for very many people and their families - not even including the people that could have been fed.

CFIA claims that the “elimination policy” remains the only viable strategy to control the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. This is despite the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) guidance that allows for regaining of “disease-free” status after one year for a zone if an HPAI infection is allowed to “burn-out” instead of being stamped-out.

Some have suggested that the CFIA’s handling of the UOF affair as an example of government over-reach, whereas the agency has maintained that their actions are to safeguard the health of Canadians and preserve the poultry industry in Canada by preventing the spread of HPAI.

The evidence of the effectiveness of the stamping-out policy, which has resulted in financial hardship and closure for many smaller poultry farms, is questionable, especially in view of the widespread distribution of the virus in wild birds and other animals in North and South America.

Over the last 6 weeks, the CFIA has taken control of the UOF site and ostriches, in an operation that is costing hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. Normally, it take up to a few years before an ostrich is comfortable around its handlers, and these prehistoric creatures are well-equipped with clawed toes to take on even lions in the wild. Ostriches are the largest and heaviest of the bird species, with weights that can exceed 150 kilograms. It is amazing that the hazmat-suit clade CFIA workers have been able to walk amongst the highly stressed ostriches on the UOF site, and one wonders whether they have been drugged to be docile.

On Thursday, November 6, 2025, the Canadian Supreme Court will finally decide whether or not they will hear the case of the witch hunt by CFIA against these healthy ostriches. Hopefully, they will see the value in maintaining their life, relying on up-to-date science and preserving this precious resource.