Another day of uncertainty looms over Edgewood’s Universal Ostrich Farm after the owners lost their final appeal to prevent the culling of nearly 400 ostriches. The birds tested positive for avian flu last winter, and their fate now rests with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
“I don’t wish this on any farmer, nor any Canadian citizen,” said Katie Pasitney, co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farm. “It’s been anxiety, fear.”
The case has attracted international attention. U.S. radio host and billionaire John Catsimatidis and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, held a press conference Monday calling on Canadian authorities to allow further testing of the birds from the FDA.
“We’re here because we’re concerned about these iconic, ancien