1 hour ago
Swift News
Mounties say they have been requested to attend an ostrich farm in British Columbia's Interior where about 400 birds have been ordered culled due to the risks of avian flu.
An RCMP statement says police support is being given to the lead agency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which has been "granted lawful authority to execute a search warrant."
A spokesperson for Universal Ostrich Farms, Katie Pasitney, said in a video posted on Facebook that a convoy of police vehicles and waste disposal trucks rolled up Monday outside the property in Edgewood, B.C., located about 360 kilometres east of Vancouver.
The video posted Monday shows the vehicles driving along the road, heading toward the farm.
Pasitney asked the farm's followers in the video to please "stop the massacre" from happening. She also addressed police directly.
"This is your day, RCMP, to serve and protect. You don't serve and kill innocent animals that are unarmed, that don't have a voice," she said.
In a later video, Pasitney, whose mother co-owns the farm, said they have been informed that there are "three search warrants" and said the family does not want violence.
On Friday, the farm said they had received information from a source indicating the CFIA would be set to cull their birds at some point in the near future.
