B.C. Ostrich Cull To Go Ahead

GrumpyCanadian · 2025-05-25T03:08:32+00:00

I hadn’t seen any discussion of this here, but am rather curious. I suspect most have heard about the herd of ostriches in B.C., where two birds that died in December were found to be infected with avian flu. A cull of the 400 or so birds was ordered, and CFIA authority to order said cull upheld in court. More recently, two big names in the current U.S. administration have been advocating for postponing or cancelling the cull outright. Those two have relatively little respect or credibility in scientific communities, because of their well-documented controversial views. The questions are: Do they have a point for once? Given how contagious avian flu can be, do we worry more about further spread and potential mutations leading to it affecting more mammals, including potential human-to-human transmission? Given that the majority of the flock has survived, appearing to go against the trend, is there possibly something to be studied? The article: RFK Jr. urges Canadian health officials to spare B.C. ostrich flock from cull All apolitical commentary/discussion welcome.

Hydraglass

px_eliezer_ I’m fairly certain they would have done it that way had the farm let them in on day one and said “go ahead, get it done however you need, and we’ll move on” - they would likely have tranq’d and then euthanized the flock by leading them one at a time through a pen of some sort. They would have had a group of folks there to do the work, it would have been clean and quick, they would have all worn hazmat suits, the carcasses would have been taken for incineration, and the story never would have even made the news. When you have dozens of screaming protesters and people trying to intervene and do dumb things - well - you lose the luxury of doing it the nice/normal/organized way and you just have to do it the fast effective way.

Somewhat-Reticent

Hydraglass Or do it the fully‑armed in‑your‑face bulldozer‑tank way?

GrumpyCanadian

Hydraglass it would have been clean and quick, they would have all worn hazmat suits, the carcasses would have been taken for incineration, and the story never would have even made the news.

It may still have made the news, but more of an after-the-fact passing mention — basically a filler story. It would have been, “ x was detected at a farm in y, and z measures were taken”, rather than the international spectacle that it became. Sadly, I’d bet that it’s not quite finished yet.

GrumpyCanadian

I spotted an article this morning that caught my attention. Unless it’s a case of reading comprehension failure, it seems that the infected biological material, including the ostrich carcasses, were not incinerated, as we had presumed. The article seems to indicate that “deep burial” was chosen instead.

I don’t claim to have any level of understanding of infectious diseases or their spread, but how does that prevent the carcasses from eventually re-surfacing? Depending on the precise depth, could a marmot not come into contact with infected material while creating a new burrow, or similar?

In a few different places, such as here and here, they seem to specify that deep burial means at least two metres deep, disinfectant added for decontamination, and immediately covered and left undisturbed.

For the purposes of this directive deep burial is defined as having a minimum of 2 metres of cover that will not be disturbed.

Another interesting part of the article discusses compensation:

The latest CFIA statement also says any formal request for compensation over the loss of the flock would be reviewed in accordance with the Health of Animals Act and other regulations.
…
“The objective of the [regulation] is to encourage the early reporting of animal disease, and the co-operation of owners in eradication efforts,” the agency adds.

It seems to imply that they can apply for compensation, but any actual payment will be in accordance with applicable regulations. Since they specifically mention prompt reporting and co-operation (neither of which applies here), I get the impression that they are sending a message that no one should be too certain that a large payment is forthcoming.

The CBC article: ‘Deep burial’ for ostriches at B.C. landfill as CFIA completes cull and disposal work

Somewhat-Reticent

All tainted tissues fully decontaminated and detoxified ( or glassified ) ?
If not, what about groundwater?
Would “undisturbed” imply effective prevention of terrorists digging?

GrumpyCanadian

Somewhat-Reticent They specifically detail site selection in one of the statements linked above. There are criteria for a specific separation from the water table, soil/clay composition, etc. I’m not sure how much of that applies to this case, but it also gives examples for de-contamination procedures:

Use 10% formalin or 5% lye solution (sodium hydroxide), or another acceptable disinfectant, to decontaminate the carcass and all soil put into the burial pit. AVOID USING LIME or other calcium products.

I haven’t come across any documentation about the current case yet.

px_eliezer_

GrumpyCanadian I don’t claim to have any level of understanding of infectious diseases or their spread, but how does that prevent the carcasses from eventually re-surfacing?

Seems strange.

We do cremations for people, so why not for the ostriches ??

Especially in this crazy case, some of the folks will probably try to dig up the bodies (seriously).

GrumpyCanadian

px_eliezer_ It seems like a strange choice. During the pandemic, most humans were forced to choose cremation for any funerals (it never occurred to me then: what of those whose beliefs don’t allow cremation?). How can they justify simply burying so many carcasses, when they are at least as hazardous as a human corpse killed by COVID-19?

In this case, they didn’t have to be careful about it; nobody is waiting for the ashes of a particular bird. Bulk incineration, then burial seems like it would have been a safer choice (to an unqualified dolt like me). Is there any evidence that formalin or sodium hydroxide can render the virus harmless (if they were even used in this case)?

px_eliezer_

GrumpyCanadian

I guess that 300+ dead birds, each about 300 pounds, is a huge proposition.

Especially if they had to be transported somewhere else where facilities were available.

California officials say:

Proper disposal of the carcass (incineration, burying, etc.) is critical to prevent exposure of other wildlife and humans to disease. Three common effective methods of carcass disposal are: incineration, burying, and rendering. Incineration is the preferred method to use when the carcass is diseased; however, it can also be the most expensive. An acceptable alternative is to bury the carcass. The carcass should be buried at least 4 feet deep and covered with lime to discourage scavengers from uncovering and consuming it.

https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Laboratories/Wildlife-Health/Monitoring/Protocols

GrumpyCanadian

px_eliezer_ At the same time, post-incineration, the ashes would no longer weigh 300 lbs per bird.

I also find it interesting that the Californian recommendation is to cover with lime, while the CFIA page says, “AVOID USING LIME or other calcium products”.

Hydraglass

GrumpyCanadian AVOID USING LIME or other calcium products

Lime and calcium carbonate and other similar things can act as preservatives. While they will cover/prevent the decomposition smell and help discourage scavengers from digging to find the bodies, it’ll make it take much longer for natural decomposition as it will inhibit bacteria and insect and other natural decomposition products. It’s a trade off. Don’t want to be detected by the cadaver dogs? Use the lime. Want the body to break down and go away fast naturally? Don’t use the lime.

digitalfutur

GrumpyCanadian Public-facing crematoria for large animals are largely non-existent in BC, unlike Ontario, and any case, are not mobile. The logistics and additional protest points to route that many birds at distance makes that option a non-starter.

GrumpyCanadian

digitalfutur We don’t specifically need a crematorium; any industrial incinerator would suffice. As pointed out in the link @px_eliezer_ posted to California’s policy, it is more expensive and inconvenient, but I would expect long-term safety to be the overriding concern. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t develop into another scandal of stupidity (like some idiot trying to locate the site, then digging to retrieve “anti-bodies” for “research”) or public health disaster down the road.

ugly95

GrumpyCanadian Let’s just hope that it doesn’t develop into another scandal of stupidity (like some idiot trying to locate the site, then digging to retrieve “anti-bodies” for “research”) or public health disaster down the road.

If there were ashes, I’m sure someone could have found a way to market them too.

GrumpyCanadian

ugly95 You may be right, but I would expect that anything left of the virus would be harmless after being exposed to those temperatures.

Now, if someone were to find the site and start digging, who knows what might happen, including some sort of tragedy due to exposure to a sodium hydroxide solution.

Astyanax

digitalfutur Public-facing crematoria for large animals are largely non-existent in BC, unlike Ontario, and any case, are not mobile. The logistics and additional protest points to route that many birds at distance makes that option a non-starter.

Since it’s BC, they should just stuff them all in a container and sink it about 100 miles offshore in the Pacific. The sharks, crabs, worms, etc will have a feast on them. There’ll be nothing left of them in a month or two. Maybe even make it a huge marine biology research project out of it and just watch what comes to eat them. Might discover some new species this way.

Somewhat-Reticent

Astyanax Marine Virology project? Dicey.

Astyanax

Somewhat-Reticent Dicey.

Worried maybe some “flying fish” may catch the disease and spread it? 🙄

Astyanax

GrumpyCanadian It looks like the deed is done:

Shots ring out at B.C. ostrich farm as CFIA uses marksmen to carry out cull

I pictured this:

Laidback

I wonder if they can dispose of them the same way they dispose of infected chickens? Compose piles seems to be one of the accepted methods.
https://www.chickenfarmers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Avian-Influenza-Handbook-Version-1.5-web-version.pdf

« Previous Page Next Page »