I’ve made the eight-hour journey back to Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, British Columbia to continue Rebel News' coverage of one of the most outrageous cases of government overreach facing Canadian farmers today.

For months, we've been following the battle between the farm’s owners and the Canad Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which is pushing forward with plans to destroy a flock of 400 healthy ostriches — despite no confirmed signs of illness and mounting scientific, political and public opposition.

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The ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farms are no ordinary birds. Their eggs have been used in promising, non-mRNA antibody research related to viral threats like COVID-19 and avian flu. That alone should warrant protection.

But the CFIA has not only refused to test the living flock to confirm or deny the farmers’ claim that the birds are immune to H5N1, they’ve also made it clear it is illegal for the farmers to conduct testing themselves — threatening six months in jail and $250,000 fines if they try.

This isn’t just about one farm. It’s about the right to farm freely, to pursue science without government sabotage, and to defend private property from reckless bureaucratic overreach.

It’s about common sense and accountability in agriculture policy, which has been sorely missing in this case. That’s why I’m here — to be your eyes and ears on the ground, so Canadians and the world can witness the truth for themselves.

In order to report on this developing story in real time, I’ve had to make some important changes.

Up until recently, I was staying at the nearest motel, which, due to the geography, is a short ferry ride away from the farm. But with the CFIA vowing to carry out the cull without warning the farmers to when, and the poor internet connection issues when reporting on site, it became clear that I had to find a better way to remain on location 24/7 to ensure that the public isn’t kept in the dark about what happens to this farm.

That meant renting a camper van to stay entrenched in the story and equipping it with Starlink — a satellite internet system created by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

And I’m glad I did because I already brought you a breaking story today from when the RCMP showed up to case the farm, I presume just ahead of the cull.

If you want to help fund our independent, boots-on-the-ground journalism so we can keep reporting on whatever happens next, and whether the farmers will be able to take new legal action to delay the cull in the nick of time, please visit SaveTheOstriches.com.

That’s also where you can send off our pre-written email directly to our federal agriculture minister and key CFIA officials, demanding they call off the senseless slaughter, and restore the freedom to farm in Canada.