The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed that one of the birds at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood has died.
According to the agency, the ostrich had a “chronic pre-existing condition” that affected its mobility.
“Unfortunately, the health of the bird significantly declined in the last 48 hours, and it died on October 4, 2025,” it explained in a statement.
But the farm’s owner, Katie Pasitney, blamed the CFIA in a video released over the weekend.
She said the animal, named Spirit, died “probably in extreme pain” while suffering from dehydration.
“The death of that bird, our family, is on you,” she said, accusing the CFIA of failing to give it electrolytes.
The CFIA, however, said it had been “administering medication and electrolyte fluids consistent with the therapy regime provided by the owners to one compromised bird.”
The birds are in the custody of the CFIA, which has been keen to cull the flock following an outbreak of avian flu at the farm.
A last-minute Supreme Court of Canada order stayed the cull last month, however, prompting the CFIA to hold off on killing the birds while it appeals.
The CFIA has said it has to kill the birds the prevent the spread of the flu, but the owners have argued the surviving members of the flock are healthy, and could even be of interest to scientists.
