{"id":166645,"date":"2025-09-24T18:22:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/166645\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T18:22:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:22:08","slug":"from-hotels-to-gas-stations-businesses-believed-to-be-contracted-for-ostrich-cull-targeted-by-opponents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/166645\/","title":{"rendered":"From hotels to gas stations, businesses believed to be contracted for ostrich cull targeted by opponents"},"content":{"rendered":"

As tensions run high over a cull order that will kill off about 400 birds\u00a0at\u00a0an ostrich farm in southeastern B.C., RCMP\u00a0say local businesses have complained of harassment, while one\u00a0company\u00a0says\u00a0its workers have\u00a0been targeted with\u00a0death threats.<\/p>\n

The barrage is believed to be coming from the farm’s supporters, who have review-bombed, emailed and called businesses that they think have been contracted by the\u00a0Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to help carry out the cull.<\/p>\n

Katie Pasitney, who is acting as a spokesperson for Universal Ostrich in Edgewood, B.C., has urged the farm’s supporters to remain peaceful but has also posted to social media calling for them to flood the phone lines of the businesses whose services may be utilized by the CFIA,\u00a0posting phone numbers for specific companies from hotels to gas stations to waste management companies.<\/p>\n

Among those being targeted is Nucor Environmental Solutions, which has an office in Surrey, B.C.. In a statement posted online, it\u00a0says it has been the subject of “false and misleading information,” adding that\u00a0it is not providing services of any kind at Universal Ostrich Farms.<\/p>\n

“The false allegations of involvement have resulted in Nucor Environmental Solutions team members, including their family members, being inundated with false accusations and threatened \u2014\u00a0including death threats,” the company said in a statement posted on its website.<\/p>\n

WATCH | The latest from the ostrich farm:\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Businesses say they face harassment, threats amid ostrich cull controversy<\/p>\n

The controversy over an ordered cull at a B.C. ostrich farm continued this week as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency arrived and RCMP arrested two people. CBC’s Caroline Barghout reports live from the farm with the latest, including reports from businesses that say some ostrich defenders have harassed and threatened them. <\/p>\n

Another targeted company, Clearway Trucks, received multiple negative reviews on Google and other review platforms after reports its vehicles had been rented by the CFIA.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, it\u00a0issued a statement to social media and its website stating that it had “no prior knowledge” that its trucks might be used in the potential cull and that they had issued a “formal demand” that their trucks be returned.<\/p>\n

Read more about the background of this case:\u00a0How the fate of a herd of ostriches on a small B.C. farm caught the attention of the Trump administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Farm supporters have also been urged to contact anyone they believe can help, including local SPCA and humane societies, as well as RCMP and CFIA non-emergency lines.<\/p>\n

The B.C.\u00a0SPCA\u00a0said in a statement<\/a>\u00a0that “it does not have any authority to intervene or influence the decision-making process where avian influenza is a factor, nor does it have the authority to prevent a legally permitted cull from happening.”<\/p>\n

Neighbour\u00a0speaks out<\/p>\n

Universal Ostrich has been fighting the cull order for months, with supporters\u00a0arguing that it\u00a0is an example of government overreach. The fight has attracted international attention, including from\u00a0officials in President Donald Trump’s White House<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The CFIA\u00a0moved in to the farm near Edgewood in southeastern B.C. on Monday with a police escort to prepare for the cull, which was ordered after avian flu was detected in the herd last December.<\/p>\n

Pasitney and her mother, farm co-owner Karen Espersen, were arrested and released by RCMP Tuesday.<\/p>\n

WATCH |\u00a02 arrested at B.C. ostrich farm:\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

2 people arrested at B.C. ostrich farm facing cull over avian flu<\/p>\n

Tensions are high at an ostrich farm in West Kootenay. As the CBC’s Brady Strachan reports, police arrested two farmers for resisting a cull order by government officials that will kill about 400 birds.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, other people in the community are speaking out about the impact the months of tension have had on their lives.<\/p>\n

Edgewood resident Randy Donselaar told CBC’s Radio West\u00a0that the quiet community has been dealing with protesters since the spring.<\/p>\n

“There’s been confrontations with locals,” Donselaar\u00a0said. “I was there at a confrontation with one of the locals where they are flying their flags\u00a0…\u00a0and making comments in general about the ostriches, soliciting responses from some of the locals, and when they don’t get a favourable response they immediately get argumentative.”<\/p>\n

LISTEN | Tensions rise in Edgewood as cull order nears: <\/p>\n

Radio West9:44Tensions rise as order to cull flock of ostriches draws near<\/p>\n

Edgewood residents James McKee and Randy Donselaar say locals are fed up with the ongoing situation at Universal Ostrich Farm\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a release issued Tuesday, RCMP said\u00a0they have received complaints from local businesses of “threats, intimidation and harassment due to the dispute.”<\/p>\n

“We are investigating these incidents and will take steps to ensure that those who unlawfully interfere with or threaten the safety of any person or property may be held accountable in accordance with the laws of Canada,” the statement said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As tensions run high over a cull order that will kill off about 400 birds\u00a0at\u00a0an ostrich farm in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-166645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}