Ostrich farm devastated but defiant after Canadian government slaughtered 300 birds
David Krayden
Some of the ostriches survived the firestorm of bullets and were left to suffer on the ground throughout the night, their cries resounding in the darkness.
The killing at Universal Ostrich Farms (UOF) began at 6 p.m. (PT) on Thursday evening. Supporters documented their anger, shock and disbelief over the massacre on thousands of social media posts. The farmers are devastated but determined that what happended to them not happen to other farms in Canada.
The family had steeled themselves for this all day after learning that The Supreme Court of Canada had dismissed their appeal to stop the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) from slaughtering hundreds of ostriches of the farm because of an apparent outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in December 2024.
But they weren’t prepared for what happened next. At least two “marksmen” with the CFIA’s Enforcement Investigation and Services Unit from Saskatoon, SK began firing at the ostriches. The slaughter continued until the early hours of the morning of Friday as the shooters expended over 1,000 rounds into the birds.
RCMP officers removed about 120 farm supporters to an access road, where they stood in pouring rain for hours. Some observers tried to climb a nearby hill to gain a better view of the “death pen” that the CFIA had constructed with bales of hay. But the diminishing light did not allow for much exposure. UOF spokeswoman Katie Pasitney approached the blue metal fence that had separated her from her “babies” since the occupation began on Sept. 22. She crouched on her knees, crying, as she pleaded with the killers to “stop, please stop.”
Although the CFIA claimed that shooting the birds was “humane and appropriate,” some of the ostriches survived the firestorm of bullets and were left to suffer on the ground throughout the night, their cries being heard by the supporters. In the morning, hundreds of dead ostriches were seen on the ground as the CFIA “inspectors” decapitated several of the birds that were squirming on the ground..
Many supporters took to social media to express their horror and disgust, including Kelly Mariek who posted, “They were gunned down in the dark, over hours. I watched the lives from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and had to log off around 9 because I couldn’t take any more — the gunshots, the agonizing sounds of the birds, the screaming. By the time I muted the sound I think the count was around 600 bullets. It was absolutely f******** sickening. The anger I feel is unreal and I will not be silenced. Those responsible — the shooters, CFIA, and the corrupt cops who look the other way — you will pay in hell.”
The cleanup operation proved to be just as hellish and bizarre as the shooting as RCMP officers were enlisted by the CFIA to clean up the “hot zone” by shoveling hay and ostrich debris onto trucks. The officers wore no protective clothing and performed this task with their bare hands, at one point joking that a nearby observer might want to put on a HazMat suit.