U.S health official and former television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz says culling a herd of ostriches at a B.C. farm would be a mistake because the animals offer an “incredible opportunity” for scientific research.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered nearly 400 birds at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., to be culled after 69 ostriches died in an outbreak of avian flu on the property in December 2024 and January 2025.
The farm owners are opposing the cull order and say their birds have immunity from the virus and should be studied.
Oz, who is now the administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the animals have survived “potentially devastating” avian flu infections, adding that the CFIA order would amount to “slaughter” and is based on rules from a “bygone era.” …