US Officials Seek to Save 300 Canadian Ostriches Facing Avian Flu Cull

Senior officials in the Trump administration, including U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, have intervened to prevent the culling of over 300 ostriches on a British Columbia farm ordered by Canadian authorities due to avian flu concerns. Dr. Oz has offered to relocate the birds to his Florida ranch, though the farm owners have expressed a preference to keep the flock in Canada and have declined the relocation offer. The Canadian government enforced the kill order following positive H5N1 tests in two birds, adhering to a 'stamping out' policy recommended by the World Health Organization to control avian flu. U.S. billionaire John Catsimatidis has also joined efforts, seeking a diplomatic meeting with Canadian officials to allow U.S. health experts to evaluate the health of the ostriches. The farm owners acknowledge some deaths from flu but argue most birds are asymptomatic and have not died since January, contesting the necessity of the mass cull. These interventions highlight cross-border tensions and differing approaches to animal health management amid avian flu outbreaks.