{"id":172270,"date":"2025-09-27T05:21:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T05:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/172270\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T05:21:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T05:21:12","slug":"edgewood-residents-stay-silent-on-ostrich-farm-controversy-over-safety-fears-very-volatile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/172270\/","title":{"rendered":"Edgewood residents stay silent on ostrich farm controversy over safety fears, \u2018very volatile\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

People living near a controversial ostrich farm<\/a> in the West Kootenay region of southeastern B.C. say the ongoing outrage and protests over a cull ordered by federal officials have them fearing for their safety.<\/p>\n

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Approximately 235 human residents in the small unincorporated community of Edgewood are outnumbered by ostriches, while supporters of the flock and the farm\u2019s owners remain vocal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese birds pose no threat and no one deserves to die for being innocent,\u201d said area resident Natalie Cronin.<\/p>\n

In a statement Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said the application of the avian flu stamping out policy for this farm has been upheld by the Federal Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal, and is supported by scientific evidence.<\/p>\n

Still, after months of protests over the CFIA\u2019s decision to humanely euthanize the entire flock, area residents are divided.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI believe that that\u2019s treason what the CFIA is doing to the people of Canada,\u201d Nakusp resident Monty Paul told Global News.<\/p>\n

Randy Donselaar, who was born and raised in Edgewood and returned following his retirement, said the drama over the fate of the birds has been going on for far too long, and the vast majority of locals don\u2019t support Universal Ostrich Farms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s general sympathy for the birds but not for the farm itself due to their inability to be forthright and honest from the get-go,\u201d Donselaar said in an interview.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBusinesses threatened over rumoured ties to ostrich cull\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The CFIA said the farm owners failed to report the initial cases of illness and deaths when the herd was infected, starting in December of last year.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"For<\/p>\n

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After 69 birds died of avian flu, the farmers argue the surviving ostriches have \u201cherd immunity\u201d and want them tested.<\/p>\n

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The virus has the potential to mutate and spread, according to the CFIA, which is why all birds on infected and exposed premises are depopulated.<\/p>\n

\u201cA vast majority of us in the valley are seniors and were concerned about our health and the risk that\u2019s still posed by the ostriches,\u201d said Donselaar.<\/p>\n

The CFIA said an initial count has determined there are between 300 and 330 ostriches remaining at Universal Ostrich Farms.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur disease response aims to protect both public and animal health, as well as minimize impacts on the $6.8 billion domestic poultry industry, and the Canadian economy,\u201d the federal agency said Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis supports Canadian families and poultry farmers whose livelihoods depend on maintaining international market access for $1.75 billion in exports.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourt halts B.C. ostrich cull\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Donselaar said he and other area residents \u2013 many of whom are unwilling to speak publicly due to safety concerns \u2013 wonder how Canada\u2019s reputation will fare if farmers are seen defying a CFIA order.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhether you like the rules or not, we live in a civil, law-abiding society,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it could carry a huge impact negatively for our agricultural industry, and that\u2019s a concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we cannot control our diseases in our country, in our meats, then this is going to be a problem for the world trade,\u201d said an Edgewood resident of 25 years who asked that her identity be protected. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to accept our meat; they\u2019re going to be suspicious of it. It\u2019s going to affect all the farmers in B.C., not just one small farm here in Edgewood.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Both residents said they welcome the ongoing RCMP presence outside the ostrich farm, claiming the protesters who\u2019ve gathered there are disruptive and intimidating, with some even labelling concerned citizens and those who don\u2019t support the farmers as a \u2018hate group\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very volatile,\u201d said the longtime resident who requested anonymity over safety fears. \u201cOne person in Edgewood has been assaulted.\u201d<\/p>\n

RCMP confirm that shortly after they arrived at the farm on Monday, police received a report of an alleged assault on one of the neighbours.<\/p>\n

That person received treatment from RCMP medics, while a man who doesn\u2019t live in the area was arrested.<\/p>\n

The suspect has since been released from custody pending further investigation and charge approval.<\/p>\n

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Early Wednesday, the hay bale wall set up around the flock<\/a> was set on fire.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwo people arrested at ostrich farm standoff\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Donselaar said the assault demonstrates the level of ambiguity involved with outside demonstrators converging on the community, and the farm not necessarily aware of who they\u2019re inviting in.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a powder keg, it can be a powder keg,\u201d he told Global News. \u201cWe don\u2019t know who\u2019s in there; they don\u2019t know who\u2019s in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ironically, Donselaar said, freedom of expression is being suppressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are becoming reluctant to speak out. They\u2019re taking away our freedom, that they\u2019re fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the farm has lost lower court bids to stop the cull, the owners hope to apply for leave to go to the Supreme Court of Canada, which, on Wednesday, granted an interim stay order in the case.<\/p>\n

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As of Friday, the CFIA said it is maintaining its presence on the farm and has custody of the ostriches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all disappointed because it\u2019s just dragging this on and on and on,\u201d said the longtime Edgewood resident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to finish and complete this job so that we can have all these people move on back out of our town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People living near a controversial ostrich farm in the West Kootenay region of southeastern B.C. say the ongoing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,52204,990,66,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-172270","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-ostrich-cull","11":"tag-ostrich-farm","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172270","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=172270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}