Photo: Facebook

Dozens of people are gathering at Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood to save the big birds.

The call for help went out, and dozens of people have answered.

Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood has been fighting a Canadian Food Inspection Agency order to cull the entire ostrich herd of 399 animals.

The farm has lost its court battles to save the big birds and CFIA could carry out the slaughter any day. The cull was ordered when several cases of the avian bird flu were found at the farm last year, but proponents said the herd is now avian free and there is no need to kill healthy birds.

Earlier this month, farm owner Karen Espersen issued a plea on Facebook for people to rally around the efforts to save the birds — a call numerous people answered.

Social media is buzzing with people posting videos from the farm, with one man calling it “Ostrich Fest.”

“This is all organically planned,” said one video post from the ranch by Colin Bigbear. “This has all come together in 24 hours. We have vendors showing up, food trucks, artists – you name it. We are turning this in to a spiritual ceremony. All nations and all walks of life are welcome here.”

There was some good news on the ostrich front earlier this week when the Regional District of Central Kootenay board resolved "to withhold acceptance, at any landfill" of ostrich carcasses from a farm.

The board resolution says the landfill acceptance hinges on further testing by either the CFIA or the Ministry of Agriculture, until the number of birds infected or exposed to the virus is confirmed.

Aidan McLaren-Caux, a board vice-chair with the regional district, says the resolution's "intentions are difficult to capture," because it passed as written Thursday after an emotional meeting with supporters of the farm opposed to the planned cull.

McLaren-Caux says regional officials received hundreds of emails before the meeting and the rationale behind the landfill resolution was to possibly give the farmers and ostriches "a reprieve from the cull order," which was upheld by a Federal Court judge this week.

Newly elected Vernon-lake Country-Monashee MP Scott Anderson is also championing the cause.

“There are many facets to this problem, besides the lives of the ostriches themselves and the devastation on a personal level to the farmers who are losing their livelihood and a herd of healthy animals, which have been exclusively used for research and some of whom live up to 40 years of age," Anderson said in a press release.

"Leaving aside the farmers’ emotional attachments to the animals, the compensation paid often doesn’t reflect the market value. For example, the CFIA is offering 'up to' $3,000 per bird, and I’m assured by experts that the value of the birds as research subjects is several times that maximum, as well as being irreplaceable. My understanding is that this compensatory imbalance exists in other species of farm animals as well.”

Anderson said there is also a question of policy.

“Is a cull truly necessary in cases like this or is it simply the most expeditious way to deal with an infection episode? If in fact there are safe and effective alternatives to culling now available, doesn’t it make sense to explore them? Millions of healthy post-infection farm birds have been killed every year in BC alone. I’ve been assured by this group of experts that there are alternate ways to approach the issue of culling, and I would therefore ask that the CFIA take seriously the concerns and insights of these highly respected academics and researchers. My office will be pleased to help facilitate a meeting between these scientists and high-level decision makers and scientists from the CFIA,” Anderson said.

“I respect the decision by Justice Russel Zinn, but there is a potential solution my team is working on that will not only save the birds but allow research to go forward. I urge the CFIA to temporarily hold off on the cull until our plan can be further explored and implemented. I am assured by several respected scientists that the solution is not only workable but will further our research into both H5N1(Bird flu) and SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19).”