Tribunal fines B.C.'s Universal Ostrich farm $10K for failing to report avian influenza symptoms

The Canada Agricultural critique Tribunal has issued a $10,000 mulct to the owners of linguistic universal struthio camelus farm in Edgewood, B.C., for weakness to report symptoms of avian influenza in their birds in December 2024.

Universal Ostrich's birds became the object of international attention over the course of 2025, as the farm filed multiple court challenges to try and stop the cull of hundreds of its birds following the avian flu detection.

Ultimately, skilled marksmen tasked by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) culled around 300 ostriches at the farm in November 2025, despite dogged protests from a group of dedicated supporters and support from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In a decision released earlier this week, the agricultural review tribunal has now ruled against the farm for not notifying the CFIA of its birds having avian influenza symptoms in December 2024.

The tribunal found that the CFIA were first notified about the avian flu on Dec. 28, 2024, following an anonymous call to its sick bird hotline.

That was at least three weeks after birds began dying on the farm, according to the tribunal decision, with farm co-owner Dave Bilinski reporting symptoms like fatigue and watery eyes that lined up with avian flu.

"The [farm] owners purport to be experts in ostrich health and welfare," tribunal chairperson Emily Crocco wrote in her decision.

"And yet they failed to exercise the same level of adherence to the [Health of Animals Act] that a reasonably prudent person would have done in a similar situation."

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In its decision, the tribunal says that a CFIA veterinarian called Bilinski the same day the anonymous tip was received.

The veterinarian told him to ask a private veterinarian to come to the farm, according to the tribunal decision, and further arrange for the CFIA to come down if the private vet suspected avian influenza.

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Universal Ostrich argued that the CFIA vet's recommendations meant that the situation "did not require immediate emergency response," and they had attempted to contact a private veterinarian days prior.

But the tribunal found that the opinions of a veterinary inspector don't impact the farm's obligations to notify authorities under federal regulations.

Crocco also wrote that the regulations don't simply state that farm owners "attempt" to contact a veterinary inspector, but they must actually do so.

"I received uncontested evidence that the [CFIA] has a “Sick Bird Line” that anyone can phone to report a diseased bird to a veterinary inspector," she wrote

"All the Applicant had to do was immediately make a call to that phone number."

While the CFIA argued that the farm's failure to notify them was intentional, the tribunal disagreed, and said that the farm had no prior violations in the previous five years.

It also states that the ostriches tested positive for highly pathogenic H5-subtype avian flu.

"As a result, I find that the violation could have led to serious or widespread harm to human or animal health," the decision reads.

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