Ostrich farm sues for loss of dietary pill business, says projected revenue was $200M
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The owners of a British Columbia farm where hundreds of ostriches were killed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is suing the government and police, claiming the loss of a business with revenue it projected at $200 million.
The lawsuit by Universal Ostrich Farms seeks damages for the loss of what it calls a “dietary supplement and pill product” based on 1,200 ostrich eggs seized as part of a cull operation prompted by an outbreak of avian influenza months earlier.
The farm’s claim said the seizure of the eggs was unlawful and irreversibly destroyed the business it described as being “on the cusp of a commercial market launch generating projected revenues in excess” of $200 million.
The inspection agency has said the cull by marksmen was conducted after ostriches on the farm tested positive for avian flu about 11 months earlier.
The farmers had fought a protracted battle to save the surviving ostriches in the courts and on social media, but the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear their final appeal, allowing the CFIA to go ahead with the cull the flock this time last year.
Landco Ventures, the owner of the property outside Edgewood, B.C., which is leased to Universal Ostrich Farms, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in Vernon against the CFIA, the RCMP and the federal government.
The claim said Mounties and staff at the CFIA arrived at the farm and served warrants to Katie Pasitney, the daughter of Karen Espersen, who co-owns the ostrich farm.
But the claim said Pasitney is not an owner or shareholder of the farm.
It said the warrants provided “no legal, moral, or statutory right to occupy the property” and CFIA officials and others were trespassing.
The claim also said CFIA staff engaged in or permitted acts of cruelty in dealing with the flock of more than 300 ostriches.
The claims in the lawsuit filed Oct. 30 have not been tested in court.
RCMP said they were aware of the claim, but it would not be appropriate to comment while the court process is underway.
“Once served, the Department of Justice will review the claim and a statement of defence for the RCMP will be issued,” it said.
The CFIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The lawsuit also said 351 ostriches were on the farm when the CFIA served its warrants, but compensation was only offered for the destruction of 314, with no explanation about what happened to the “missing” 37 birds.
The farm’s efforts to save the surviving ostriches lasted for months and drew support from protesters who camped on the property, as well as from figures in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2026.