Ostrich farm files to try and block CFIA kill order

Universal Ostrich Farms seeks to stay the CFIA's kill order after 235 days of healthy birds, with supporters camping on-site.

| September 05, 2025 | News | Be the first to comment

Go Ad Free

On Day 235, Universal Ostrich Farms saw a hopeful development as lawyer Umar Sheikh, crowdfunded by supporters, officially filed for an emergency stay order.

“He has put in an official gold stamp for a stay,” co-owner Karen Espersen told supporters at the Edgewood, B.C. farm on Thursday evening. She cautioned: “It’s vitally important to keep these animals alive or he says our whole case is moot.”

BREAKING: Ostrich Farm Update

Good news, the birds are still alive.
Universal Ostrich Farms’ lawyer @uasind has officially filed for an emergency stay.

BUT the order hasn’t been granted yet. CFIA could still move in to cull while we wait.

Background: https://t.co/ziF2wnLm2P pic.twitter.com/eLivpL2vVr
— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) September 5, 2025

Though the legal application has been filed to protect ostriches from a CFIA kill order, the agency could still act before a judge's ruling.

“We are also working on the paperwork of the science and everything else to give to CFIA to show everything that they couldn’t hear in the first hearing, now everything is going to be presented,” Espersen clarified.

Following dismissed Federal Court attempts, including a May judicial review and August appeal upholding CFIA's "stamping out" policy, the farm has few options, leaving the flock exposed to a cull order.

Despite 235 days with no symptoms, the farm, with over 400 healthy ostriches, hopes courts or Ottawa intervene to prevent a kill order.

Rebel News is on-site at the ostrich farm, awaiting updates on the stay order.

This situation is eroding trust between Canadians, farmers, and government agencies, putting humanity at greater risk.

For months, our team has been on the ground at Universal Ostrich Farms, documenting every step of this tragedy — from the first ominous signs of federal overreach to the night nearly a thousand shots rang out, leaving a field of hundreds of dead ostriches and a family shattered.

Our journalists confronted the RCMP, pressed CFIA officials, launched drones to reveal the truth, and refused to be intimidated or silenced.

But holding powerful institutions to account takes resources: travel, security, legal access, and the manpower of an around-the-clock reporting team.

If you believe in independent journalism that asks the tough questions the establishment won’t touch, please chip in to help us keep digging.

Drea Humphrey

B.C. Bureau Chief

Based in British Columbia, Drea Humphrey reports on Western Canada for Rebel News. Drea’s reporting is not afraid to challenge political correctness, or ask the tough questions that mainstream media tends to avoid.

Go Ad Free

SPONSOR