iN NUMBERS: The planned CFIA ostrich cull in Edgewood

Do you think you could take an ostrich in a fight?

Some Canadian Food Inspection Agency workers might have to find out whether they can go toe-to-toe with a flock of giant birds since a cull is scheduled to take place at an ostrich farm in the West Kootenay. RCMP officers have already visited the Edgewood farm to prepare for potential arrests at the property where protesters are trying to prevent the cull.

This story has been all over the news so we decided to give you the figures on CFIA culling:

• 400: Ostriches are scheduled to be culled at Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood.
• 1.2 million: Dollars is the maximum compensation for the deaths of the ostrich flock.
• 8.7 million: Birds have been culled in B.C. due to the avian flu.
• 3: Steps to a cull. First an initial visit and the cull order, then the actual killing and then compensation for the animals.
• 124,000: Dollars raised by donation for Universal Ostrich Farm.
• 62: Areas in B.C. had avian flu, but most are no longer infected.
• 300: People were in the Zoom call for the Regional District of Central Kootenay meeting and most folks were there to see if it could do anything to delay the cull.
• 25: Per cent of an ostrich’s value is in the leather in Europe.
• 5: Of the top ostrich importers are Germany, France, the United States, Netherlands and Belgium.
• 1,050: Animals were culled by the CFIA during a bovine tuberculosis outbreak in Western Canada in 2018.
• 26,454: People signed an online petition to stop the cull.