The president of the union representing staff of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it’s increasingly concerned about “intimidation and threats” against workers over a planned cull of ostriches at a farm in British Columbia.
Milton Dyck of the Agriculture Union says workers have been receiving threats online over the planned cull that was ordered after an outbreak of avian flu, and protesters have gathered at the property at Edgewood, B.C., to try to block it from happening.
Dyck says in a statement Monday that the union supports the right to peaceful protest, so long as it doesn’t obstruct workers.
He says the union expects its members to be able to work in a safe environment, “free of physical threats and intimidation.”
The CFIA meanwhile says it will go ahead with the cull, despite a request from United States Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the birds be spared.
Kennedy had posted a letter on social media on Friday addressed to CFIA President Paul MacKinnon, saying there is “significant value” studying the ostriches’ immune response to avian flu and asking the agency to partner in a study of the birds.
The letter is co-signed by the heads of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, who Kennedy said took part in a conversation with MacKinnon on Thursday.
The food inspection agency said in response to a question Monday about whether Kennedy’s letter will have any impact on the cull that the “humane depopulation” of the flock will proceed.
It said dates and plans will not be shared publicly, citing privacy protections for producers.
The agency had earlier confirmed in an email that MacKinnon had a call on May 22 with the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration along with Kennedy, who it said had expressed an interest in the H5N1 outbreak on the ostrich farm.
“The CFIA remains focused on our ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) response across Canada,” the agency said in the statement issued Saturday.
Sixty-nine of the flock died of avian flu in December and January, but the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms say the remaining 400 or so birds are healthy and have acquired herd immunity, making them valuable scientific subjects.
Kennedy’s intervention came after dozens of protesters gathered at the farm to try to prevent the cull ordered by federal authorities.
Some remain camped at the farm, and have been calling for more to join them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2025.
The Canadian Press
