e-6857 (Animals)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency continues to uphold two objectives when managing disease outbreaks under the Health of Animals Act:

• To eradicate or minimize the spread of disease.
• To keep international markets open for export to protect and support a robust Canadian animal agricultural industry.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s 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. This supports Canadian families and poultry farmers whose livelihoods depend on maintaining international market access for $1.75 billion in exports.

The Agency takes the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza very seriously to protect the health and safety of both animals and people. It follows rigorous and science-based protocols to contain the outbreak, in alignment with internationally recognized standards. In the case of Universal Ostrich Farms, the Agency concluded that the circumstances posed significant risks to animal and human health.   

Highly pathogenic avian influenza behaves differently in ostriches, and this, combined with the pathogenicity testing results, genomic analysis of the strain at Universal Ostrich Farms, the heavily contaminated environment, and the owners’ refusal to implement robust biosecurity measures, created a significant risk of further spread. As a result, it was essential for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to take action to try to eradicate the virus on this premises and prevent the spread of this novel reassortment.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency completed the cull on November 6, 2025, under the authority of the Health of Animals Act.

The Agency uses a “stamping-out” approach to control the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, which is internationally recognized. It has been transparent in providing the rationale for this approach. Documents provided to the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, as well as information on the Agency’s website provide details on the scientific rationale, the specific situation at Universal Ostrich Farms; the impact on international trade and the authorities under the Health of Animals Act that allow the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to apply disease control measures for all federally reportable animal diseases.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Event Response Plan 2022 is the specific policy that guides Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s response to the current highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak event. It was first published on October 11, 2022, and has been amended on multiple occasions since then. The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Emergency Response Plan affirms Canada’s commitment to following standards set out in the World Organization for Animal Health’s Terrestrial Code in response to the current highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak event, including implementing a stamping-out policy.

The stamping-out policy is applied for all detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic poultry where the laboratory case definition for highly pathogenic avian influenza is met, regardless of flock mortality or evidence of clinical signs. This includes situations where birds appear healthy. Canada has applied a stamping-out approach to each of the over 519 premises infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza since December 2021 – ensuring that all poultry flocks infected with or exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza on affected premises are humanely destroyed in order to eradicate detected disease, mitigate the risk of further spread of the virus and opportunity for virus mutation, and re-establish Canada’s disease-free status as quickly as possible.

The rationale for the application of the stamping-out policy for highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry, as well as the rationale for not pursuing alternatives such as vaccination, treatment or quarantine were submitted to the Courts via affidavit.  

Under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency policy, the requirement for applying a “stamping-out” approach is for a polymerase chain reaction confirmation in one deceased avian. Since this requirement was met on December 31, 2024, the Agency did not conduct additional testing at Universal Ostrich Farms. Due to the significant health threat and risk of disease transmission for H5 avian influenza viruses, the policy does not provide for additional testing. Moreover, additional polymerase chain reaction and/or serological testing could only provide additional evidence of current risk but could not address the unknown risks of reinfection nor the risks associated with the contaminated environment.

As directed in the Supreme Court of Canada’s interim stay order on September 24, 2025, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency assumed custody of the ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farms. During this period, the Agency provided appropriate feed and water with veterinary oversight. The Agency purchased feed and hay from the Farms’ preferred supplier and provided the same amount of feed daily that the owners reported using prior to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency taking custody.

There was ongoing Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinary oversight to monitor the condition of the flock. Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinarians observed several birds with compromised mobility, and this is consistent with reports from the owners.

The veterinarian of record for Universal Ostrich Farms visited the premises on October 6, 2025, and reported the birds were being well taken care of and agreed with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s veterinary assessment of the birds.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency was present on the premises 24/7 maintaining the wellbeing of the birds. Agency staff took steps to repair some of the structures on site to allow the birds to shelter from the rain or snow and ensured that piles of straw were distributed to allow the birds to lie down and stay warm. Ostriches with medical issues were isolated from the general flock to enable them time to eat without being displaced by other members of the large flock. 

The Supreme Court of Canada directed the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to have custody of the birds pending a decision on the application for leave to appeal. The presence of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police was required due to the security risks to Canadian Food Inspection Agency and contracted personnel from the farm and their supporters.

Vaccination is not a treatment for birds that have already been exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza. Canada, like other countries, is exploring highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccination as a potential additional strategy to mitigate risks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Vaccination, if administered in advance, may help prevent vaccinated birds from becoming infected by reducing their susceptibility to infection. Also, vaccinated birds that become infected with avian influenza tend to shed lower amounts of virus into the environment, decreasing the risk of viral spread. However, vaccination does not replace stamping-out, nor does it replace the need to have appropriate and effective biosecurity practices in place. Under Canadian Food Inspection Agency policy, stamping-out would still be applied to all birds infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, vaccinated or not.

There is also no known licensed and approved antiviral drug treatment in Canada targeting highly pathogenic avian influenza in birds that would eliminate or prevent spread of the disease from an infected flock. Veterinary drugs are licensed by Health Canada. While treatment with an antiviral agent has been demonstrated to be effective against influenza experimentally in chickens, the relevant antivirals are prohibited for use in poultry in the United States and European Union. Canada does not currently have a general regulation against the use of all antivirals in agriculture. However, as no antivirals are approved and licensed, administration by a veterinarian would constitute extra-label drug use. Such use increases the risk of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance and presents the risk of drug residues contaminating products for human consumption and the environment.

Quarantine and the use of additional testing are also not “treatment” and are also not considered by Canadian Food Inspection Agency to be an appropriate mitigative measure for highly pathogenic avian influenza. Such an approach is contrary to Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s intent to rapidly eliminate the virus from affected domestic poultry populations for the reasons outlined above. It is also in direct contravention of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency policy of adhering to the World Organization for Animal Health’s Terrestrial Code recommendation to apply a stamping-out policy, given the implications to Canada’s disease-free status eligibility and trade implications.

For these reasons, the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Emergency Response Plan does not include vaccination or other treatment for birds with confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza infection or known exposure. Implementing the stamping-out policy is currently the only response to a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the Universal Ostrich Farms’ Application for Leave to appeal on November 6, 2025. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has completed depopulation and disposal measures as authorized by the Health of Animals Act and guided by the stamping-out policy for highly pathogenic avian influenza at the Universal Ostrich Farms premises on November 6, 2025.

The interim stay was put in place to allow the Supreme Court of Canada time to consider the application, it was in place to ensure that if the decision was to grant leave to appeal the birds would be alive and this issue would not be moot. It was not a prejudgment of the merits of the application.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has provided all documentation pertaining to decision making and protocols through the various affidavits, certified tribunal records and exhibits including the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Event Response Plan 2022, various inspector notes, communications with the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms, laboratory results, etc. This material is publicly available at:

Federal Court - Court Files

Court file database

In addition, the rationale and background information on the Agency’s response to highly pathogenic avian influenza is available on its website at:

Avian influenza (bird flu) - inspection.canada.ca

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza on British Columbia Ostrich Farm - inspection.canada.ca

The financial expenditures as of November 13, 2025, are $899,329.67. This figure does not include legal costs or Canadian Food Inspection Agency salaries for deployed personnel.