Ostriches are corralled inside of a cull enclosure near the Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C. in November, 2025.AARON HEMENS/The Canadian Press

$6,810,846.

That’s roughly how much the seemingly endless B.C. ostrich saga has cost the federal government (read: taxpayers) so far.

Meanwhile, the scofflaws whose actions have triggered this avalanche of public spending have been fined a mere $10,000 for flagrantly violating the law.

The reflex is to blame government for profligate spending. But to be fair, they were responding to the foot-dragging obstinance of science-denying malcontents.

André Picard: The ostrich saga was for the birds

The story began on Dec. 28, 2024, when an anonymous caller alerted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that there appeared to be ostriches infected with avian influenza at a farm in Edgewood, B.C. (The CFIA operates a Sick Bird Line, 1-800-442-2342. Farmers are legally obligated to do so because H5N1 is a reportable disease.)

Veterinary inspectors, wearing white hazmat suits, visited Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. on Dec. 30, and swabbed two dead birds. (A total of 69 birds died in the outbreak.) Because H5N1 was detected, a cull was ordered immediately.

Canada has a “stamping out” policy........

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