Canada: order to cull over 400 ostriches sparks protests and death threats
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Canada: Supreme Court Halts Cull of 400 Ostriches
Above: An ostrich at a farm in the Choman district of Erbil, Iraq on April 30, 2025. Image copyright: Ahsan Mohammed Ahmed Ahmed/Anadolu/Getty Images
The Spin
Government-critical narrative
Canada's Supreme Court stay has rightly spared 400 ostriches from a reckless CFIA cull, as the birds have been healthy and symptom-free for 253 days. Even after draining the pond that drew in infected ducks, farmers face an agency refusing retesting and enforcing a WHO-backed "stamping-out policy" that tramples established guidelines. This is government overreach at its worst — ignoring science, property rights and the birds' vital role in producing therapeutic antibodies.
Pro-government narrative
The Supreme Court’s stay may pause the cull, but it does not erase the danger. H5N1 is a deadly, highly contagious virus that can jump from birds to humans, and Canada's "stamping-out policy" — based on WHO standards and vital for trade — is essential to prevent its spread. Activists and Trump-aligned agitators are fueling harassment and death threats, undermining trust in public health while ignoring that exposed ostriches can silently shed the virus and mutate it into new threats.