Ostrich farm family sues Canadian agencies a year after flock was killed

Katie Pasitney says she still cannot bring herself to watch the video of Canadian government agents killing more than 300 ostriches at her family’s farm.

“I do not watch it. I do not look at it,” said Pasitney, a spokeswoman for Universal Ostrich Farms. The footage is hard enough, she said, but the harassment she has faced since the cull has added to the trauma.

Pasitney said her home address and a layout of the property were leaked. People have also shown up outside her home. She says she reported the incidents to police, but nothing was done.

A difficult anniversary

On November 6, 2025, Canada’s Supreme Court declined to hear the farm’s final appeal to stop the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from killing the ostriches owned by farmer Karen Espersen and her business partner, Dave Bilinski.

The agency ordered the flock destroyed after two ostriches died during an avian influenza outbreak in late 2024 and tested positive for H5N1. The surviving birds went months without further reported deaths, and the farm argued they were healthy and should be tested again before any cull.

The CFIA did not exempt the remaining birds from its disease-control policy, and the courts upheld the agency’s decision.

The case drew international attention, particularly in the United States. The farm received support from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Dr. Mehmet Oz and businessman John Catsimatidis. The CFIA’s occupation of the property also prompted repeated accusations of animal cruelty.

A year later, the family is seeking millions of dollars in a lawsuit against the CFIA, Canada’s attorney general and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Filed October 30 in British Columbia Supreme Court, the civil suit alleges an unlawful search and occupation, insufficient compensation, the unlawful seizure of ostrich eggs, property damage and trespassing. The plaintiffs are seeking damages and an accounting of birds, eggs and other property they say was taken or destroyed. The claims have not been proven in court.

In a statement about the lawsuit, Catsimatidis again criticized the CFIA for turning down offers of assistance from U.S. officials. He said he was disappointed the agency had not allowed Kennedy, Oz or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to test the ostriches, as they had requested.

Pasitney, Espersen’s daughter, has been a familiar figure throughout the dispute. She says the past year has taken a heavy emotional toll on her family.

“The pain will never go away”

Pasitney says she has struggled to recover from what happened at the farm. She has been able to leave and return to some version of normal life, but says her mother still faces reminders every day.

Her mother’s overalls, once worn for farm chores, still hang at home, Pasitney said. The field has been left in disarray, she added, where ostriches had lived for decades.

“I got to leave,” she said. “I’ve felt the effects of the trauma more, where my mom is still in fight or flight.”

The experience has also given Pasitney a deeper understanding of the mental health challenges farmers can face. She said the actions of the CFIA have affected not only farms, but also families.

Pasitney described some of her lowest moments in recent months, including thoughts that it might be easier if she were no longer alive. She said the hostility directed at her online has been part of the strain.

She had promised not to respond to negative comments unless she felt there was something important to address. She said she did not want to feed the hostility, but that it can still affect her.

Questions about public health and safety

Pasitney said she remains troubled that some people continue to defend the cull as necessary to protect public health and safety.

She questioned whether those people would still support the decision if they had expected the ostriches to be shot at night, in heavy rain, as they ran for their lives.

She also questioned the CFIA’s biosecurity practices during and after the operation. Pasitney alleges agents did not follow proper procedures, drove through contaminated areas and left bloody straw behind.

She asked why the agency had not returned to test the farm’s soil and water or examine the straw after the operation, saying she could not understand how that squared with protecting the public.

The CFIA has said the cull was required under its policy for controlling highly pathogenic avian influenza. The agency has also disputed claims about how it cared for the birds during its occupation, saying it provided food, water, bedding and veterinary oversight.

For Pasitney, the events of the night of November 6 remain difficult to reconcile with the agency’s stated concern for animal welfare. She recalls hearing gunshots from inside the family home and says there was no warning before the shooting began. She says gunfire could still be heard the next morning.

After the birds were gone, Pasitney recalled, the clouds cleared and sunlight fell on the area where they had been killed.

“Remember how beautiful the birds were”

Pasitney said the ordeal left her determined to help prevent anything similar from happening again, especially to animals that have lived for decades.

She remains grateful for the support the farm received from around the world, particularly for the prayers offered during the effort to save the flock. She said people may have assumed the family was asking for money, but that she had asked for prayers.

She hopes people remember the ostriches as individuals, not only as part of a public controversy. They had distinct personalities, she said, and she wants people to remember their beauty and the way they moved and played in the fields.

Pasitney called the birds heroes and said she hopes their legacy can help bring change, support farmers and strengthen Canada’s agricultural industry.