“Stamping Out” the Ostriches

https://www.columbuszoo.org/blog/snow-big-deal-how-ostriches-strut-through-winter-pros

Today, I virtually attended Federal Court of Appeal proceedings in Ottawa.

The hearing focused on arguments for and against the Federal Court’s earlier decision to dismiss an application for judicial review that challenged the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) order to kill hundreds of ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood, British Columbia (Universal): Universal Ostrich Farms Inc., v Canada (Food Inspection Agency), 2025 FCA 122 (CanLII).

For background, in 2024 a highly pathogenic avian influenza, H5N1, began to spread within the ostrich population at Universal, leading to the deaths of dozens of ostriches. Subsequent testing during the CFIA inspection detected the H5N1 virus in two of the ostriches found dead at Universal.

45 minutes after the presence of H5N1 was confirmed, the CFIA issued an order to cull the approximately 400 remaining ostriches to prevent any possible further spread of the disease. The owners of Universal argued against the order, requesting further testing to the remaining ostriches in hopes of stalling the order and sparing their lives.

Universal requested judicial review of the order, but the court dismissed the application and the order was upheld. Today, the dismissal was appealed at the Federal Court of Appeal.

There was an important concept repeated numerous times throughout the hearing with the moniker of “stamping out”. This concept, and practice, of the mass destruction of birds living on farms where highly pathogenic avian flu is found is an internationally accepted practice, specifically when dealing with farmed birds.

According to the CFIA, “Stamping-out is the internationally recognized standard and is a primary tool to manage the spread … and mitigate risks to animal and human health as well as enable international trade.”

I wanted to reflect on “stamping out”, as it creates a problem for me when discussing the fate of hundreds or thousands of living beings in one fell swoop. The use of the term, as well as the process, is yet one more example of the brutal practices of the commodification of farmed animals at the hands of the “food” industry.

The disposability of animals in the name of convenience and cost-saving measures saves the industry from having to see animals as they really are, sentient beings born in the wrong place at the wrong time. This industry reduces the lifespan of the animals that keep it afloat, due to the inhumane conditions in which they live, their slaughter, or culling them en masse when disease is present.

The agriculture industry works entirely outside of the natural systems of animal life through repeated artificial insemination and impregnation, overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions, regular abuse from farm workers, the relentless laying of eggs by hens, steroid and antibiotic administration, and a whole host of other practices too numerous to mention here.

These conditions create an environment rife with disease. According to Zhang, et al.*:

“One axis along which animal agriculture plays a vital role in animal and human health is zoonosis, infectious diseases transmitted between humans and animals.”

The indisputable evidence linking this industry to disease is overwhelming, yet animal protein consumption is rising, and demand is growing. The industry responds not with more quality control, but with more methods to cut costs and increase profits.

“This increased demand has ultimately resulted in the global biomass of food animals surpassing that of humans, which has by necessity transformed the ways in which modern agriculture is conducted” (Zhang, et al.*).

“Stamping out” is not only a disrespectful label, but it embodies the brutality of the industry. It removes the identities from the animals whose lives are disregarded for the preference of a meal most people will forget about in a few hours.

· The ostrich can live up to 40 years in the wild (75 years in captivity) but processed for food at 1 year old.

· Chickens can live to be 15 years old, though broiler chickens are usually killed at 6 weeks, male chicks die the day they are born.

· A cow can live longer than 20 years but is most often killed around 2 years old, calves at 8 months.

· Pigs can live 20 years or longer and typically slaughtered at 6–7 months old.

These animals have natural lifespans that could never be accommodated with the sheer volume of meat that is eaten today.

Perhaps this is a clear sign that humans are doing something wrong?

*Zhang, et al., “Animal agriculture and infectious disease: A review” (2024) 18 One Health 100522.