Everything takes place in a small community in the Canadian province of British Columbia where 69 ostriches on the same ostrich farm died last winter. Two of them tested positive for a variant of bird flu, H5N1. The Canadian government wants, as a safety measure, to kill all the remaining ostriches, which has made both the farm's owner and animal rights activists see red.
It is a state abuse in its worst form, says Katie Pasitney, daughter of the farm owner Karen Espersen, to The Wall Street Journal.
The animals have recovered from the outbreak and developed flock immunity, she continues.
Dormant virus
A legal battle began where the ostrich owners wanted to keep the animals alive and the Canadian government wanted to kill the ostriches, to avoid the infection spreading to other animals. The Canadian food authority has also warned that the virus may be dormant and mutate, even though no animals show symptoms.
The local appeals court previously lifted the killing decision in the summer to reconsider the matter. Here the story could have ended, or at least continued to be kept local. But a somewhat unexpected person has taken up the fight for the ostriches – the US Health Minister, vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy.
Move the ostriches
According to a spokesperson for the US Department of Health, the minister has urged Canada not to kill the ostriches but instead conduct tests to "better understand the virus".
But the Canadian health authority believes that the risk of infected animals is too great. It could lead to virus mutation with major consequences – an argument that Robert F Kennedy and celebrity doctor Dr Oz, also part of the Trump administration, do not buy.
Together, they have written a letter to Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney to pressure him to change the policy regarding the ostriches. Dr Oz has even offered to take care of the ostriches and move them to his ranch in Florida.
We do not accept health advice from Robert F Kennedy and Dr Oz, says David Eby, British Columbia's leader.
