Is heading south the answer to saving hundreds of ostriches?

The owners of the Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood are considering moving their 400 birds to the U-S.

But their daughter Katie Pasitney says it would only be as a last resort to prevent the cull ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency who would also have to approve the move across the border.

U-S officials including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have proposed alternatives to save the ostriches.

Another member of the Trump Administration is offering to move the herd to his ranch in Florida.

According to the New York Post, Dr. Mehmet Oz said his 900-acre property could be a refuge for the birds to studied, feeling their possible herd immunity after surviving an Avian Flu outbreak should be probed.

The story also quoted the former U-S network TV personality as stressing the importance of scientific evaluation over bureaucratic decisions.

Billionaire John Catsimatidis is also part of the “save the ostriches” campaign in the United States.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials say the cull is still going ahead because of the potential for the herd to spread the infection, but haven’t said when it will take place.

Opponents of the cull have been gathering at the Edgewood farm over the past few weeks.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay refused to take the carcasses in their landfill unless the matter was studied further.

The cull order was upheld recently by a Federal Court judge, but the owners have vowed to continue their legal battle.


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