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It has been two months since the Canadian Food Inspection Agency massacred hundreds of healthy ostriches in Edgewood, British Columbia under the banner of “protecting” public and animal health from a virus that passed through the herd a year earlier.

In today’s report, we hear from Katie Pasitney, the adult daughter of farm co-owner Karen Esperson and farm helper to get on update on the aftermath to the devastating blow to the families pursuit to save their flock and farming security.

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“There’s no handbook on it,” Pasitney told Rebel News when reflecting what it was like for the family in the weeks following the slaughter. “You go through adrenaline for a year trying to protect animals that you can see and that you can touch, and then all of a sudden they’re not there anymore.”

According to Pasitney, the loss has reshaped daily life in ways that are still difficult to process. She said the absence of the flock, and the routine that came with caring for them, remains one of the hardest burdens to bear.

The physical aftermath of the operation has only compounded that trauma. Pasitney said the CFIA left behind what she described as a scene of destruction: hay bales torn apart and scattered across the fields, shell casings mixed into the straw, and security cameras damaged or rendered unusable.

Despite the avian-flu-recovered birds being gone, Pasitney said the farm is still officially considered under quarantine until May, a designation the family rejects outright. She characterized the ongoing restrictions not as a public-health measure, but as punishment.

“The world knows this wasn’t about a viral threat,” she told Rebel News. “This was about a theatrical display of punishment for using our voices.”

Pasitney also addressed concerns raised by viewers who watched Rebel News’ live coverage, particularly the obstruction and apparent damage to the farm’s security cameras. She said they confirmed that some of the cameras the farm installed to monitor predators and protect the herd and property were damaged by the CFIA when the agency obstructed them.

Financially, the fallout continues.

Pasitney acknowledged that despite lengthy court battles and mounting legal costs, the farm has received no compensation and has had no meaningful communication suggesting compensation is forthcoming. What has been disclosed, she noted, is how much taxpayer money was spent to destroy the flock; not how the farmers will be made whole.

Looking ahead, Pasitney said the family is focused on accountability and reform.

She described 2026 as a year dedicated to ensuring what happened at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood does not happen again — not just for ostrich farmers, but for anyone involved in Canadian agriculture.

The farm is now working toward developing a new framework aimed at calling on the government to protect farmers, encouraging innovation, and ensuring those who work in agriculture have a seat at the table when life-altering decisions are made.