Why the B.C. Ostrich Cull Was the Right Call

You’ve probably seen the videos by now.
Floodlights. Trucks. Gunfire in the distance.
And captions screaming “government tyranny!”

But behind the noise and hashtags, something quieter — and far more rational — was happening.
This wasn’t oppression. It was public health in action.

At a farm in Edgewood, British Columbia, dozens of ostriches began dying without warning.
Tests confirmed H5N1 avian influenza — the same deadly strain that’s devastated bird populations around the world.

Under the Health of Animals Act, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is required to contain outbreaks quickly. That meant culling the exposed flock before the virus spread further.

The farm appealed the order — all the way up the ladder:

Three courts, one conclusion: this was science following the law, not government flexing power.

Let’s be honest — these weren’t pets.
They were commercial livestock raised for meat, leather, and feathers.

No one was taking ostriches for walks or teaching them tricks. They were part of a business, not a household.
Calling them “pets” is emotional manipulation designed to inflame, not inform.

It’s tragic when any animals are destroyed. But these weren’t family companions — they were part of Canada’s agricultural economy. Pretending otherwise turns empathy into clickbait.

It sounds reasonable… until you understand how H5N1 spreads.
By the time the CFIA arrived, birds had already died, and the virus was moving fast.

Testing isn’t perfect — especially in large flocks. And quarantines only work when every person and animal stays fully contained. That wasn’t happening here.

This wasn’t an overreaction. It was containment — a firewall to protect farms, wildlife, and people.

Then the story got imported.
U.S. political figure Robert F. Kennedy Jr., joined by billionaire John Catsimatidis, started campaigning to “save the ostriches,” even offering to move them to Florida.

Kennedy Jr. is the same man who’s made a career spreading falsehoods about vaccines and public health.
When anti-science crusaders start fighting on your behalf, it’s probably time to step back and ask why.

Their involvement turned a Canadian disease-control decision into a cross-border culture war — perfect fodder for the outrage economy.

We all like the idea of saving animals.
But viruses don’t care about our feelings.

If H5N1 spreads to commercial flocks or migratory birds, entire food systems collapse.
In 2022, the United States culled 58 million birds to stop the same virus. The U.K. and France did too.

Canada acted early, within the law, and contained the risk.
That’s not tyranny. That’s biosecurity.

Cue the “Convoy 2.0” energy.
Influencers, truckers, and anti-science voices are already turning this into another “freedom fight.”

But this isn’t about ostriches. It’s about distrust as a brand — outrage for profit.
Meanwhile, veterinarians, epidemiologists, and CFIA officers are just doing the dull, disciplined work that keeps breakfast on your table.

You can care about animals and still support what happened.
That’s not hypocrisy — it’s adulthood.

This wasn’t Big Government tyranny. It was public servants applying science to prevent something worse.
If boring competence feels like oppression, you’ve probably been watching too many YouTube sermons.

Truth doesn’t need a convoy.
It needs calm voices — and the courage to stay sane.

🧠 If this made sense to you, subscribe, share, and help keep reason alive.
Because sanity is still an option.