Newly released federal records show that more than $6.7 million in taxpayer dollars were spent by multiple government agencies to carry out and enforce the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s controversial slaughter at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C. More than 300 ostriches involved in antibody research for viral therapeutics were slaughtered in November.

The Liberals were obligated to make the disclosure after Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee Conservative MP Scott Anderson obtained the information through a formal Order Paper Question, demanding the Liberals account for every dollar spent by the CFIA, the Department of Justice, and the RCMP.

MP Scott Anderson just made the Liberals admit they waisted 6.7 million dollars on killing healthy ostriches in BC.

Report to follow at: https://t.co/joDXk6Wu4V
*Flashback vid, day after massacre👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/EzvbnYugSI

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) January 28, 2026

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In his submission to Parliament, Anderson asked the government to disclose all expenditures related to the CFIA’s actions at the Edgewood ostrich farm, including the totals and itemized breakdowns of the RCMP and the Department of Justice.

“What are the expenditures incurred by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency related to the farm, in total and broken down by type of expense,” he asked.             

The response, issued by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and signed by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, MP Heath MacDonald, revealed that the true cost of the operation far exceeded what Canadians had previously been told.

According to the records, the CFIA alone spent millions.

A whopping $220,923 was spent on straw and its delivery, likely to have been used to construct the kill pen where marksmen fired rounds into the prehistoric creatures through the night of November 6 and into the early morning hours of November 7.

The same blood-stained straw, something most would expect to be treated as biohazard waste, was left behind, allowing wild birds to land on it shortly after the massacre.

The agency's other spending included:

• $13,780 on ostrich feed, despite farmers' repeated pleas to feed their own animals
• $380,396 on facilities, presumably on or near the rural farm
• $162,420 on travel and vehicles
• $678,916 in salaries and benefits
• $83,496 listed as the cost of the “destruction” of the birds

The CFIA further disclosed $44,248 in legal costs, on top of approximately $1.38 million spent by the Department of Justice fighting the farmers in court, farmers who were seeking to have the agency test their asymptomatic flock before killing them a year after the avian flu swept through the herd.

The CFIA’s private veterinarian bill was surprisingly low at $2,967 considering the agency had seized the large herd for close to 50 days while awaiting the Supreme Court of Appeal's decision as to whether or not they would hear the case.

During the standoff, the farmers repeatedly requested veterinary services, particularly after “Spirit”, a hen injured after being spooked by the federal presence, began showing visible signs of suffering.

Leaked video later appeared to show CFIA personnel leaving the bird in distress and pretending to administer electrolytes the farmers had begged officials to provide due to her dehydrated condition.

OSTRICH FARMER Katie Pasitney pleads with the CFIA to show proof of care & life of the injured hen named Spirit who they believe is being neglected by the agency. https://t.co/ziF2wnLm2P pic.twitter.com/mxOIFVlw3v

— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) October 4, 2025

The RCMP, which maintained a heavy presence at the farm and operated a nearby pop-up command centre, disclosed spending more than $3.7 million related to the operation, including:

• $2,016,566 on personnel
• Nearly $1 million on transportation and telecommunications
• $657,037 on professional and special services
• $59,210 on rentals and leases
• $16,866 on repairs and maintenance

When asked whether there were any additional government expenses not yet disclosed, the Liberal government admitted the figures remain incomplete, stating:

“The expenditures reported are only those that have been reflected in the financial system as farm related expenditures as of December 9, 2025. Salaries and other pending expenditures such as overtime claims, that have not yet been posted in the financial system related to the farm are not reflected in the data. Total expenditures related to the farm will not be complete until the end of the fiscal year.”

This was Anderson’s second attempt at forcing transparency. In December, the CFIA and RCMP disclosed a combined figure of just under $1 million, a number that now appears to have represented only a fraction of the true cost.