The Universal Ostrich Farm Case
Get past the biases, the fears and failures of media coverage and you're left with just another gov't agency able to enact “near draconian measures” to safeguard its power and privilege.
The Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood BC, is at the center of controversy following a May 14th, 2025 Federal Court ruling upholding a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) order to cull nearly 400 ostriches due to what it calls an “avian flu” outbreak, initially detected on December 31st, 2024.
The farm, owned by Karen Esperson, and used since 2020 as a “research facility” focused on extracting antibodies from ostriches for commercial and research purposes (including experiments with SARS-CoV-2) has significant issues with maintaining compliance with CFIA regulations.
As outlined in the May 13th, 2025 CBC News post, “BC ostrich farm 'devastated' after federal judge rules cull of nearly 400 birds can proceed,” the CFIA has uncovered issues relating to biosecurity protocols, including open-air enclosures near wildlife, inadequate quarantine measures, and unauthorized individuals accessing infected zones.
The farm’s owners argue that the surviving birds are healthy and could provide insights into combating avian flu, but Justice Russel Zinn ruled that the CFIA’s actions were lawful and necessary to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus, which has led to the culling of over 8.7 million birds in B.C. since 2022.
According to the May 16th, 2025 The Tyee post, “How a BC Ostrich Farm Sparked a Far-Right Crusade,” the politics of the situation are also problematic.
The farm has garnered support from “far-right groups,” former freedom convoy supporters, and figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Tyee and other “left leaning” authorities don’t like the “far right groups” and both sides are demonizing their opponents.
For a legacy media overview of the current situation, check out the May 21st, 2025 CBC British Columbia on YouTube post, “Dozens gather at B.C. ostrich farm to protest order to cull 400 birds.”
Rebel News is also reporting on the situation.
The core of their coverage is, that while the Ostrich farm owners are working on an appeal of the Federal ruling allowing for the killings to proceed, the CFIA and the Federal government are working to cull the ostriches before any appeal can be heard.
In essence, the CFIA actions will disrupt the reasonable functioning of the courts and should therefore not be allowed.
But that’s not the CFIA perspective.
Check out the May 21st, Rebel News on YouTube post, “BREAKING: Authorities on site as brutal ostrich slaughter looms” for more.
Perhaps the most useful overview of the Federal judgement against the Ostrich farm is the May 19th, 2025 Canuck Law post, “Universal Ostrich Farms: Did Anyone Actually Read The Decision? Or Anything Else?”
The post delves into the legal intricacies of the case, highlighting the Federal Court’s 137-page ruling by Justice Russel Zinn, providing links to primary source materials and liberally quoting passages from court documents.
The post notes the courts decision uphold the CFIA’s order to cull the ostriches, emphasizing that the agency followed “due process,” essentially the regulations and rules required under the CFIA’s mandate for it to continue functioning.
While the farm’s legal challenge was dismissed, Justice Zinn noted “considerable sympathy” for the owners.
Zinn’s judgement also questioned the farm’s pivot since 2020 to focus on extracting antibodies from ostriches for commercial for research purposes, raising concerns about whether those activities complied with biosafety regulations for handling such pathogens.
It noted that:
Despite this strategic shift, some level of ostrich sales, along with sales or planned sales of products derived from ostrich fat and eggshells, continued through to at least December 2024.
The Canuck Law post notes the essentially economic, procedural but not humanitarian or compassionate interests of the litigant in contesting the CFIA order.
Zinn’s 137 page ruling underscores the CFIA’s authority to enact “near-draconian measures” to safeguard what CFIA considers to be in the “public interests”
This could be the true concern of the various people lining up to protect the ostriches.
The public wants to define its own public interests.
Based on the publicly available information, there is no direct evidence that Universal Ostrich Farms has received federal grants specifically for research and development (R&D) related to their ostriches.
Even though that does seem to be their business plan.
The farm’s biosafety concerns, the acknowledged open-air enclosures and inadequate quarantine measures, as noted in the Canuck Law post and CBC News reports, might disqualify them from federal funding, which often requires strict adherence to often ill defined biosafety and other regulations.
But the Canuck law and Tyee posts note that Universal Ostrich Farms could be cooperating with other organizations, such as Kyoto Prefectural University in Kyoto, Japan and that funding or resources might be coming from international partners or Canadian federal grants awarded to Universal partners and/or academic institutions like Kyoto.
This funding, which could be substantial, would be at risk if the mandated ostrich culling proceeds:
The May 18th, 2025 Connies Substack post, “Christine Massey, David Dickson, Pat King, Kyle Cardinal, and Rick Walker of Maverick News...WHO's paying your mortgage?” questions the motives and funding of activists amplifying the Universal Ostrich Farms narrative.
According to Connies Substack:
Universal Ostrich Farms is not a globalist front. It’s a family-run operation in rural British Columbia, now being crushed under the weight of a government that takes its marching orders from unelected, unaccountable, power-drunk international bodies.
The post calls out David Dickson (@dksdata on X), who has been vocal about the farm’s situation, noting the potential for bio-experiments with pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 and avian flu on the ostriches as outlined in the farms business plan and court documents.
The post suggests that Dickson and others may be part of a coordinated effort to push “antigovernmental” narratives, potentially funded by external entities with an interest in undermining “public health measures.“
It also discusses potential Ostrich farm funding, including a $13 million dollar Canadian government grant, listed in court documents, to an Ostrich farm partner to “develop "antibodies" to the imaginary SARS-COV-2 (virus),” which could have provided funding for the Universal Ostrich Farm.
The Connie’s Substack post implies that the activism surrounding the farm, including Dickson’s posts about inadequate lab standards, might be less about the ostriches and more about a broader agenda to discredit institutions like the CFIA, leveraging public sympathy for the Ostrich farm to fuel distrust in government actions during “health crises.”
But while the Connie’s post makes interesting points about the politics surrounding the case, it doesn’t reference the CFIA’s authority to enact “near-draconian measures” to safeguard “broader” but often undefined “public interests.”
Maybe the protestors are right and people should distrust government draconian health authorities.
Public perceptions of the Universal Ostrich Farm situation, as reflected across various platforms, reveal a deeply polarized narrative.
On the Facebook group “Save Our Ostriches,” supporters rally behind the farm, viewing the cull as an overreach by the CFIA. Comments highlight sympathy for the Esperson family, with users like “John M.” calling the decision “heartless” and arguing that the surviving birds could be studied for disease resistance, aligning with the farm’s claims.
On X, David Dickson’s May 18th, 2025 post and related threads fuel suspicion against Universal Ostriches, with Dickson and his readers questioning the farm’s history of injecting ostriches with pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 for antibody research. They raise alarms about biosafety violations, asking if the farm operates as an “open-air level 3 biolab” and whether these birds entered the food chain, reflecting fears of zoonotic disease risks.
On the r/britishcolumbia Reddit thread under the title, “How a BC Ostrich Farm Sparked a Far-Right Crusade | Convoy supporters and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have rallied around the farm, which is facing a cull of its 400-strong flock'‘ users like u/BCTruthSeeker view the farm’s situation as a “far-right rallying point,” noting the involvement of 2022 Freedom Convoy supporters and Independent MLAs. They express concern over comments advocating extreme measures, such as “culling CFIA employees,” highlighting a radicalized response.
Others defend the CFIA, arguing that the biosecurity risks posed by the farm’s practices justify the cull and citing the broader avian flu crisis in BC.
Overall, perceptions remain split between those who see the farm as a victim of government overreach and a potential source of scientific insight, and others who view it as a public health risk amplified by misinformation and political agendas.
All sides seem to distrust each other, the farm’s practices and the authorities’ response. There seems to be no room for nuance or the development of reasonable understanding of the actual facts of the matter.
The Universal Ostrich Farm is currently under round the clock surveillance by police, the CFIA and other government authorities.
Sometime over the next few day, the CFIA will likely attempt to bypass the expected court appeal of its plan to cull the 400 ostriches at the Universal Ostrich Farms by entering the property under police protection, and killing the ostriches.
It will do so under the guise of a public health emergency.
Government’s and government agencies can do pretty much whatever they want to do in Canada, just so long as the proper paperwork is filled out, the proper procedures are followed and the proper reasons are given.
For more on that, check out the April 26th, 2025 Al Jazeera English on YouTube post, “How technocracy has become our reality | The Listening Post.”
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Good report. At the end of the day, the farm should be afforded aĺl remedies under the law, including rhe right to appeal the CFIA's decision to cull 400 healthy ostriches. If CFIA proceeds with culling before the farm has exhausted its legal rights, this would amount to a denial of access to justice. Due process must be respected. No irreversible action should be taken until every legal avenue has been fully pursued.
Great review of the situation and media coverage of both sides. The Connie Shields Substack post is a must-read. Apparently, the "no virus" crowd is called UOF controlled opposition. The real focus, of course, is the WHO's "OneHealth", the expected resurrection of Bill C-293, complete control of our food supply, and the elimination of what's remaining of our private property rights. If you either haven't seen it yet, or it's been a while, Soylent Green from 1973 is highly recommended. It has masks, 15 minute cities, overpopulation, the elimination of meat, control of the food supply, and MAiD. The only thing missing is a plandemic. And, apparently, ostriches.