CFIA reclassified an ostrich farm as poultry, granted a "rare genetics" exemption then revoked it a week later. Here's how they changed the rules to justify the cull.

In November 2025, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency shot and killed 314 ostriches at a farm in British Columbia after detecting avian flu. The birds had been healthy for ten months—no deaths, no symptoms, no spread to other farms. The owners fought the order through every level of court and lost every time. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz both offered to relocate the birds for study. CFIA refused and proceeded with the cull anyway. But here's what the news coverage missed: the legal and bureaucratic maneuvers that made the killing possible. CFIA reclassified the operation from an ostrich farm to a poultry operation mid-process, granted a special "rare and valuable genetics" exemption, then revoked it seven days later with no documented explanation. The agency applied chicken-farm biosecurity standards to 300-pound birds that stand nine feet tall and live for half a century. And courts deferred to all of it. This is the story of how treating ostriches like oversized chickens became official government policy—and why no one will ever start an alternative livestock operation in Canada again!

The Reclassification Game

Ostriches Aren't Chickens (Apparently This Needs Saying)

In British Columbia, ostriches are legally classified as "alternative livestock" or "ratites"—not poultry. Different rules apply.

Before December 2024:

• Universal Ostrich Farm operated as an ostrich farm
• Outdoor housing was normal and compliant
• No problems with classification

After December 2024 (avian flu detected):

• CFIA started treating it as a poultry operation
• Outdoor housing became a "biosecurity violation"
• Media reported "deplorable conditions at poultry farm"

What changed about the farm's operations?

Nothing. Literally nothing.

What changed?

How CFIA classified it.

Why This Matters: Ostriches Are Not Oversized Chickens

Let's compare what CFIA decided to treat the same way:

Chickens:

• 5-8 pounds
• Live 5-10 years
• Mature in 6 months
• Can live indoors
• Cost $3-30 each
• Replace easily

Ostriches:

• 200-350 pounds (as heavy as a grown man)
• Live 40-50 years
• Mature in 2-4 years
• Need outdoor space (they're 7-9 feet tall and run 45 mph)
• Cost $500-2,000+ each
• Take decades to develop breeding lines

CFIA's approach: Same disease protocols for both!

The "Biosecurity Violation" That Isn't

CFIA said: Outdoor housing is a biosecurity failure.

Reality: You can't keep ostriches indoors like chickens.

Try housing a 300-pound bird that stands 9 feet tall, can kick through a fence, and needs to run at 45 mph in a chicken coop. Good luck with that.

Outdoor paddocks aren't a violation for ostriches. It's the only way to house them.

But once CFIA reclassified them as poultry, suddenly normal ostrich farming became "deplorable conditions."

Would you expect horses to live in hamster cages? No. But CFIA expected ostriches to follow chicken rules.

The Wild Bird "Violation"

CFIA also said: Wild ducks landing near the paddocks was negligent.

Reality: Try stopping wild birds from flying over outdoor livestock.

By this standard:

• Every cattle farm is a violation (wild birds everywhere)
• Every horse farm is negligent
• Every outdoor chicken operation is non-compliant (the irony!)

If wild bird contact is unacceptable, then all outdoor farming must end.

But CFIA only applied this standard after deciding the ostriches had to die.

The One-Week Exemption Reversal

What Happened

Early January 2025:

• CFIA sends the farm requirements for a "rare and valuable genetics" exemption
• Farm submits documentation: 35 years of breeding, research partnerships, genetic uniqueness

January 8, 2025:

• CFIA officially grants the exemption
• Farm's genetics are recognized as rare and valuable
• Birds don't have to be immediately killed

One week later:

• CFIA revokes the exemption
• No explanation
• Nothing changed (no new deaths, no new tests, no new outbreak)

What the court documents show happened during that week:

No new bird deaths
No new positive tests
No change in bird health
No farm violations
No new evidence of any kind

So what changed?

Nobody knows. It's not documented anywhere.

What the Farm Had Provided

According to court records, the farm submitted:

• Evidence of 35+ years of breeding program
• Five-year supply contract with biotech company
• International research partnerships (including Kyoto University in Japan)
• Documentation of IgY antibody research
• Proof of investment in the flock ($620,000+ in research materials)

CFIA on January 8: "This meets our criteria. Exemption granted."

CFIA one week later: "Never mind. Exemption revoked."

Farm: "What changed?"

CFIA: [silence]

Courts: "CFIA has discretion. We defer to their expertise."

The Investment That Can't Be Replaced

Here's what most people don't understand about the difference between chickens and ostriches:

Lose your chicken flock:

• Buy new chicks: $15,000
• Back in production: 6 months
• Resume business: 1 year
• Life goes on

Lose your ostrich flock:

• Buy new breeding stock: $300,000-600,000 (if you have it)
• Wait for maturity: 2-4 years
• Rebuild 35 years of genetic lines: Impossible
• Restore research partnerships: Gone forever
• Get back where you were: Never

If you're 60 years old when this happens, you'll be 90-100 before you're back where you started.

"Just start over" isn't an option.

What CFIA Destroyed in One Night

If this were a chicken farm:

• Loss: ~$9,000 in birds
• Recovery time: Under 1 year
• Genetic loss: Minimal

What it actually was:

• Loss: $500,000-1,000,000+ in birds
• Loss: 35 years of irreplaceable breeding work
• Loss: International research partnerships
• Loss: Unique genetic lines that took decades to develop
• Recovery time: Never

CFIA treated them the same.

Why Courts Didn't Stop It

The farm challenged both changes in court. They lost at every level.

Why?

A 2019 Supreme Court decision called Vavilov established that courts must defer to government agencies unless decisions are "clearly unreasonable."

What "reasonable" means:

• Agency has authority? ✓
• Some rational basis? ✓
• Procedures followed? ✓
• Then courts defer ✓

What "reasonable" does NOT require:

• Best decision
• Consistency (exemption granted Monday, revoked Friday = both "reasonable")
• Detailed explanations
• Documentation of what changed

Result:

• CFIA changed the classification? Reasonable.
• CFIA revoked exemption in one week? Reasonable.
• Farm has no remedy.

The Message to Farmers: Don't Even Try

What Every Canadian Farmer Just Learned

Thinking about starting an alternative livestock operation? Here's what you now know:

Your operation can be reclassified during disease outbreaks
Normal practices can become "violations" overnight
Exemptions can be granted then revoked in days
No explanation required
Courts won't question it
Decades of work means nothing
Research value won't protect you

Who's going to take that risk?

The Economic Reality

To build what Universal Ostrich Farm had:

• 35+ years of breeding work
• $500,000-1,000,000+ investment
• International research partnerships
• Decades of expertise

What you get:

• Can be destroyed in one night
• After exemption granted then revoked
• No compensation if you resist
• Courts won't question it

That's not a business model. That's a suicide mission.

What Nobody Will Start Now

Who's going to invest in:

• Rare breed conservation? (30-40 year projects)
• Unique genetic development? (20-30 years)
• Alternative livestock? (Decades to establish)
• Long-term breeding programs? (Generational work)

When:

• One disease outbreak = total destruction
• Exemptions are meaningless
• Decades vanish overnight
• Courts defer to agencies
• No remedy exists

Answer: Nobody.

What CFIA Actually Accomplished

CFIA's stated goal: Stop avian flu. Protect Canadian poultry industry.

CFIA's actual results:

• Killed 314 birds that were healthy for 10 months
• Destroyed irreplaceable genetics
• Terminated research programs
• Proved exemptions are theater
• Showed classification can change at will
• Demonstrated courts won't intervene
• Killed alternative livestock industry in Canada

Mission accomplished?

Questions Nobody's Answering

1. If outdoor housing is normal for ostriches, why was it a violation?
2. What specifically changed between January 8 and one week later?
3. If international policy allows no exceptions, why have an exemption process?
4. Should agencies reverse decisions in days without documenting why?
5. What does "judicial oversight" mean if courts defer on everything?
6. Why would anyone invest 35 years in something that can vanish overnight?

Sources

All information from:

• Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. v. Canada (Food Inspection Agency), 2025 FCA 147
• Federal Court Decision (May 2025)
• Sworn affidavits from both sides

Available at: CanLII.org (search "Universal Ostrich Farms")

What Comes Next

This case sets the framework for how government agencies will handle disease outbreaks—and how courts will defer to them.

When the next pandemic arrives, this is the precedent:

• International standards override individual circumstances
• Agency discretion is nearly unlimited
• Courts won't question classification changes or policy reversals
• No requirement for detailed explanations

The ostriches were just the test case.