Canadian Ostrich Farm
2 Arrested Protesting Slaughter of 400 Birds
Published
facebook.com/katie.espersenprentice
Two people were arrested at a Canadian ostrich farm as they desperately continued to protest the mandated slaughter of 400 ostriches.
Local news outlets report officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) arrived at the British Columbia farm Tuesday to begin preparations for the cull ordered due to an avian flu outbreak nearly 1 year ago. Protesters lined up at the farm, calling the mandate inhumane and unnecessary.
Universal Ostrich Farms farmers Katie Pasitney and her mother, Karen Espersen, were arrested for refusing to leave the ostrich pen as CFIA officials got to work.
Farm co-owner Dave Bilinski told Castanet News they knew they’d be arrested — he says he left the pen on his own accord because he needed to gather their belongings.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed in a press release two individuals were taken into custody for “obstructing CFIA agents from performing their duties.” They have since been released.
Police say their duty is to “work with all groups and organizers, so they can fulfill their objectives in the safest manner for everyone, and to ensure that all avenues to resolve the conflict are exhausted without the need for police enforcement actions such as making any arrests.”
According to local reporting and multiple Facebook posts from Katie and Universal Ostrich Farms, she and her coworkers have been fighting this cull for about 10 months.
The outbreak originated in December 2024, killing 69 of their ostriches. No ostriches have reportedly died from avian flu since … but the CFIA mandates they all must be euthanized.
Kate claimed to supporters on Facebook Tuesday that the CFIA plans to lure her beloved birds out with “corrals of hay bales,” continuing on … “and they’re going to dart or shoot our animals to death. If we don’t stop them in the next 24 hours, we’re going to lose everything.”