As tensions run high over a cull order that will kill off about 400 birds at an ostrich farm in southeastern B.C., RCMP say local businesses have complained of harassment, while one company says its workers have been targeted with death threats.
The owners of Universal Ostrich Farms have been fighting the cull order for months, with supporters arguing that it is an example of government overreach. The fight has attracted international attention, including from officials in President Donald Trump’s White House.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) moved 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.
The mother and daughter at the centre of the fight were arrested and released by RCMP Tuesday.
2 people arrested at B.C. ostrich farm facing cull over avian flu
Katie Pasitney is the spokesperson for Universal Ostrich, which is co-owned by her mother Karen Espersen.
They have urged their supporters to flood the phone lines and email addresses of anyone they believe can help, including local SPCA and humane societies, as well as RCMP and CFIA non-emergency lines.
Several businesses believed to be contracted to support the cull have also been targeted.
Nuco Environmental Solutions, which has an office in Surrey, B.C., says it has been the subject of “false and misleading information,” adding that it is not providing services of any kind at Universal Ostrich Farms.
“The false allegations of involvement have resulted in Nucor Environmental Solutions team members, including their family members, being inundated with false accusations and threatened — including death threats,” the company said in a statement posted on its website.
After receiving multiple negative reviews on Google and other review platforms, Clearway Trucks issued 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.
Late Sunday night, they posted to Facebook that they had repossessed the trucks.
The B.C. SPCA said in a statement that “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.”
Pasitney has also posted to Facebook urging supporters to call local hotels, fuel companies and other businesses whose services may be utilized by the CFIA.
Edgewood resident Randy Donselaar told CBC’s Radio West that the quiet community has been dealing with protesters since the spring.
“There’s been confrontations with locals,” Donselaar said. “I was there at a confrontation with one of the locals where they are flying their flags … and 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.”
In a release issued Tuesday, RCMP said they have received complaints from local businesses of “threats, intimidation and harassment due to the dispute.”
“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.
