Edgewood’s Ostrich farm is taking their fight directly to Victoria, with Katie Pasitney expecting to lay out the cruel injustice of a cull order to nearly 400 birds during today’s question time.
The owners of Universal Ostrich Farm were invited by Peace River’s MLA Jordan Keely, after hearing of the herds fate due to an avian flu outbreak back in January.
“It feels absolutely fabulous to spread the word, share what’s going on, and the impact that this could have on a longer, broader scale of our agricultural sectors.” said Katie.
“We want to bring attention higher up to the Federal Government and creating a conversation that we need change before its too late.”
“Our farm is not for food consumption, we are a research facility and have been for about three and a half years, with our focus on antibody research to help viruses and disease but most important viruses, like the one that is threatening the world into a possible pandemic, and we’ve been offering a solution since day one.”
“Our message at the legislature is do not kill the science and let’s give the world an opportunity to use it.”
Recent allegations of the Ooteshenia landfill clearing land to make room for these large birds isn’t sitting well with the family, with the cull order still pending a final decision.
“It displays a bit of an arrogance within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and we don’t have a verdict yet,” said Katie.
Meanwhile, local support which continues to rally for the family, the birds and the farm hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I really want to thank all those supporters, and everybody has been fantastic continuously their mentality on this situation has been growing and I think that everybody is starting to see that there’s a bigger and broader picture here.” said Katie.
“We need to protect our agricultural sector and all of our farmers who work so hard to continuously strive to offer sustainable and nutritious food for our children and our grandchildren.”
The last judicial review back in mid-April left many questions unanswered, including when a decision would be made.
“We’re just being prepared, and we’re just waiting out the verdict, but we do hope our visit creates some more much needed awareness which will stimulate some strong conversation that will end in some positive outcomes happening not just for us, but all farms across Canada.” said Katie.
More news coverage: Edgewood Ostriches survive another day – My Grand Forks Now
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