RCMP says B.C. ostrich farm investigations continue

Published November 19, 2025 • 2 minutes read

Ostriches are locked in a culling pen outside a general purpose ostrich farm in Edgewood, British Columbia, after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the farm's appeal of an order to cull more than 300 ostriches on Thursday, November 6, 2025. Photo by Aaron Hemens /CANADIAN PRESS

The RCMP say their enforcement operation at a British Columbia farm where bird flu caused the slaughter of hundreds of ostriches is under investigation, with no charges laid or dropped after several arrests.

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Katie Pasitney, whose mother Karen Espersen is a co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farms, posted a video to her Facebook profile Monday saying charges against the couple stemming from their September arrest have been “dismissed.”

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In the video, she says they no longer had a scheduled court appearance this week.

But RCMP Staff Sgt. Chris Clark says in an email that the original court appearance “has lapsed” and “new court documents” will be released at a later date.

He says no charges have been laid or dropped in connection with the situation at a farm in southeastern British Columbia where more than 300 ostriches were shot this month in a cull ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last New Year's Eve.

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The farmers fought in court for nearly 11 months to save the ostriches, but lost when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled not to hear the case.

The cull began on the night of November 6, using what the CFIA said were professional marksmen to shoot the herd.

Pasitny and Espersen were arrested and later released in September for violating the Animal Health Act by allegedly obstructing CFIA officials after the agency moved onto the property and took control of the ostrich enclosure.

The pair refused to leave the enclosure when they were arrested and were allowed to return home on the condition that they did not re-enter the enclosure.

In a Facebook video, Pasitney says their “armor is back on” and the farming family is “ready to take on the next part of the fight for all Canadians and see the ultimate change” in the CFIA's approach to dealing with bird flu outbreaks.

She says the family is “still struggling” with the aftermath of the shooting.