The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says that an ostrich farm faces a fine of $ 20,000 for lack of quarantine and sacrifices its birds.
In a statement published on May 30, the agency said that Universal Ostrich Farm has failed to follow federal regulations, including not informing the initial cases of illness and death in its farm, and not complying with quarantine orders.
“Universal Ostrich Farm received two notices of violations with penalty, for a total of $ 20,000,” says the statement, although it does not say when the fines were issued.
The in -depth statement provides more details on the inspection of the CFIA of the farm dating from December 2024 and arrives when US officials, including the Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, have intervened in the case, urging Canadian officials not to kill birds.
Katie Pasitneywhose parents are the owners of the farm, he said in a brief interview with the Canadian press that he was not sure if the fines were a new movement by the part of the CFIA But “nothing surprises me right now.”
Pasitney said CBC News that the farm will issue a response to CFIA Declaration on Monday.
However, many of the details in the statement already shared during a two -day judicial case after Universal Ostrich received a court order that stole the order.
This includes the fact that the CFIA learned that the ostriches were dying through an anonymous tip, and that the farm did not have the avian flu outbreak, which killed 69 of the approximately 450 birds in the farm, allowing animals and people to mix freely with infected animals.
“The farm also did not make appropriate measures to mitigate the risk of biosafety, such as limiting access to wild birds to ostriches, controlling water flow from the quarantine area to other parts of the farm, or improving the fence. These actions significantly increase the risk of disease transmission and reflect a dislike for regulatory compliance and animal health standards,” the Declaration of the CFIA says.
The statement also says that the farm has not justified its claims that ostriches are being used for scientific research, stating that “the CFIA has not received any evidence of scientific research that is carried out in infected premises.”
The farm has repeatedly stated that its birds are unique and can be used to develop antibodies against avian and COVID-19 flu, but the CFIA says that the farm could not support those statements and that “in addition, the current physical facilities in their location are not suitable for controlled research activities or tests.”
Universal Ostrich has presented an appeal of the ruling of the previous court, which allows the sacrifice to advance, although that appeal has not yet been accepted.
The CFIA says that the sacrifice will advance, as necessary to protect public health and economic agreements of Canada with other countries.
