The issue of the 300 ostriches that were sacrificed in Canada amid massive controversy that reached the United States.

The farm owners, who raise ostriches for slaughter but also use them for medical research in recent years, have exhausted all legal avenues to stop the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) order, going so far as to fight legally all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Supreme Court dismissed the case on Thursday morning, allowing the sacrifice to take place.

Lower courts ruled in favor of the Canadian government, ruling that it was acting within the scope of its mandate to protect public health.

Dozens of people gathered at Universal Ostrich Farms Thursday afternoon to protest the impending cull of ostriches.

“Sick parasites, you’ll burn in hell!” someone shouted.

The birds have become an unexpected political symbol, and many believe the Canadian government has overstepped its bounds.

This has led to growing tensions in the town of Edgewood, British Columbia, where the farm is located. Local traders told the media they had to turn to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after clashes with bird advocates camped at the farm.

These types of culls often take place secretly, as part of the broad mandate Canadian food inspectors have to limit the spread of harmful viruses.

However, this case attracted attention both nationally and internationally, especially from members of the Trump administration, such as Kennedy and Dr. Oz, who is responsible for overseeing the Medicaid and Medicare health programs in the United States.

Although neither has jurisdiction in Canada, both have spoken out in favor of the birds.

By contrast, the response from senior Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Mark Carney and other leaders, has been largely muted.

One of the staunch defenders of the farm south of the border has been New York billionaire and Republican megadonor John Catsimatidis, a self-described animal lover who on Thursday called for a “thorough investigation” into the case.

He even suggested that the US Department of Justice take over the investigation if Canada refused.

Catsimatidis’ involvement dates back to early May, when Bastny called a radio show he hosted to make his case.

“The Canadian government wants to euthanize two birds on our farm, even though they are healthy and thriving wonderfully,” he told her.

Moved by the birds’ plight, the billionaire secured numbers from the Trump administration to join the cause.

Later that month, Kennedy met with Canadian officials to try to stop the execution.

He suggested conducting a long-term study on ostriches to determine whether they have developed immunity to bird flu.

“There is great value in studying this population,” rather than killing the herd “indiscriminately,” Kennedy later wrote in a letter to Canadian officials.

For his part, Dr. Oz offered to transport the ostriches to his farm in Florida, but the farm owners refused.

“We want this to stay in Canada,” Bastny told CBC Canada at the time.

However, a few days after the meeting with Kennedy, officials informed the Canadian Press that they would go ahead with “culling” the herd to reduce the herd’s suffering in critical circumstances.

In July, Kennedy, Dr. Oz and Catsimatidis took the matter to the highest levels, imploring Prime Minister Carney to issue a “joint public statement” in support of the farm.

Carney has not commented publicly on the issue.

Justice Minister Sean Fraser spoke on Thursday, telling the press he was “pleased” the High Court had dismissed the case.

“It is important that the Minister of Agriculture and the CFIA can protect the health of Canadians and the food we eat,” Fraser said.

Kennedy, Dr. Oz — advocates of the Make America Healthy Again movement — and Catsimatidis might seem unlikely allies for a small ostrich farm in rural British Columbia. However, their reasons match.

The ranch owners often accused Canadian officials of overreach. They also received support from Canadian activists opposed to measures against COVID-19, such as Tamara Leach, who led the “Freedom Caravan” that occupied Ottawa at the height of the pandemic and raised money to defend the birds.

At the same time, Kennedy criticized government-imposed public health measures, such as mandatory vaccination.

The US official has expressed interest in using birds to study natural immunity to bird flu, rather than following the eradication protocols of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which coincide with those of the World Health Organization (WHO), a UN body that has been criticized by both Kennedy and US President Donald Trump.

“It’s a bit surprising that members of the US Cabinet are making public statements about this,” said Jeremy Snyder, a professor and public health expert at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

“But this is not surprising,” he added, noting that the controversy served as the perfect breeding ground for those who oppose the government’s abuse of power, including vaccine skeptics who believe that “Big Pharma and the government are trying to control our lives.”

The CFIA has defended its policies in several statements, stating that the goal is to protect public and animal health, as well as the multi-billion-dollar Canadian poultry industry.

For his part, British Columbia Conservative MP Scott Anderson, a supporter of the farm, criticized what he called a “poorly implemented process.”

“This operation cost Canadians millions of dollars, hundreds of overtime for the RCMP, and turned the once sleepy town of Edgewood into something like a sci-fi movie set at Area 51,” Anderson said.

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