On a recent episode of Truth Be Told guest-hosted by John Davidson on Clouthub, two Canadian women, Katie Pasitney and Connie Shields, shared a harrowing tale of resilience, betrayal, and a David-and-Goliath struggle against the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). At the heart of their story is Universal Ostrich Farms, a family-run research facility—not a food production farm—in Edgewood, British Columbia, home to 400 ostriches. These massive, flightless birds could hold the key to revolutionizing disease treatment, but the CFIA is pushing to exterminate the entire herd, citing an alleged H5N1 bird flu outbreak based on scant evidence, while blocking tests for a bacterial culprit from 2022: Pseudomonas. What unfolds is a saga that questions government overreach, food sovereignty, and the suppression of natural immunity.
A Research Farm Under Siege
Katie Pasitney, whose family has tended these ostriches for 35 years, began with a stark revelation: “Our story is not just our story. It’s a story of what’s happening around the world and it’s the mass cullings.” Universal Ostrich Farms isn’t about meat or eggs for consumption—it’s a research hub. “We are more of a research facility… We are not a commercial poultry farm. We are not for consumption,” Katie emphasized. The trouble started in mid-December when the farm noticed symptoms reminiscent of a 2022 outbreak caused by Pseudomonas bacteria, which they had successfully managed with quarantine and herd immunity. “In 2022, we noticed symptoms… Our vet did a tissue sample, which is the gold standard… That sample came back to us really quickly with Pseudomonas bacteria,” she explained. They lost only 10 birds out of 300 then. This time, “we started noticing that these symptoms that we’re having are absolutely similar to the symptoms we had back in 2022,” she said, assuming a similar bacterial issue—until the CFIA intervened.
An anonymous tip led the CFIA to their doorstep, claiming the research farm harbored H5N1 bird flu. “They said that it’s been brought to their attention by an anonymous tip that they were sure that we had avian influenza, the H5N1, bird flu,” Katie recounted. Willing to cooperate, they allowed CFIA officials to test two deceased ostriches on December 30th using PCR tests—a method Katie noted with skepticism: “I knew PCR tests weren’t accurate, but we were very shocked when they came to do the PCR tests.” The next day, December 31st, the verdict came: positive for H5N1. “We were shocked and mortified because in that same call, they said, ‘just so you know, your farm of all your animals is set to be killed,’” Katie said, her voice heavy with emotion.
A Pattern of Deception—and a Refusal to Test for Pseudomonas
What followed was a Kafkaesque ordeal. The CFIA denied requests to test living ostriches—healthy or symptomatic—and explicitly refused to let the farm check for Pseudomonas again, despite its precedence. “They said, no, sorry, that’s not possible,” Katie recalled of their broader testing request. When asked if their vet ever took a bacterial sample this time, she replied, “No… Right after those two PCR tests, we got slapped with a notice saying that we will be threatened with a $200,000 fine and six months in jail if we take one sample off our farm of our ostriches.” This ban includes testing for Pseudomonas, which she believes could explain the current outbreak. “They’ve threatened us jail time if we go get a third party sample… They have not tested our farm for anything but H5N1 because they wanted to get what they got,” she said, suggesting a predetermined agenda.
Worse, they later discovered that “41 minutes after that December 31st, where we found out we were positive, they already signed our documents saying that they were going to kill our whole farm.” A January 2nd call, lasting five and a half hours, seemed promising as officials probed their groundbreaking research into ostrich antibodies. But Katie’s mother, Karen Esperson, who runs the farm, grew suspicious: “She said, ‘Are you just probing me for information and you’ve already decided that you’re going to kill all my animals?’” The CFIA denied it, but the truth soon surfaced.
An email from a caseworker offered hope: “Congratulations, it looks like you have qualified for rare and special genetics, which could possibly exempt us from depopulation,” Katie said. Yet the exemption package was a sham, tailored to commercial poultry farms, not their research operation. “Every one of these questions pertains to a commercial poultry farm… You don’t see an ostrich listed,” she noted. When they questioned its relevance, the response was chilling: “If you don’t answer these questions… you will be disqualified immediately from the opportunity to have your farm exempt from a mass culling.” On January 10th, their worst fears were confirmed: “You do not meet the requirements for rare and special genetics… You are to kill your animals,” the CFIA decreed, demanding the family slaughter their own herd and bury them in pits.
Groundbreaking Science at Risk
The stakes go beyond the farm’s survival. Universal Ostrich Farms is a research facility with ostriches producing antibodies that could neutralize viruses like H5N1 and COVID-19. “We have ostriches that have developed antibodies with the potential to revolutionize how we treat diseases and viruses,” Katie emphasized. Their work with Immune Bio Solutions in Quebec showed astonishing results: “He said, ‘If every one of your eggs is like the eggs that you’ve sent me, this is a game changer… We have proof we could neutralize the COVID-19 variant.’” Dr. Tsukamoto in Japan even offered a stockpile of H5N1 antibodies to the Canadian government, only to be ignored.
Yet the CFIA seems intent on erasing this potential. During a visit, officials demanded, “Where do you store your COVID-19 antibodies?” Katie’s mother asked, “What are you going to do? You’re telling me you have the authority to take all of our COVID-19 antibodies that have nothing to do with H5N1?” The answer was yes: “We are going to destroy everything and anything and any byproduct that you have in your personal residence and on this farm.” Katie questioned, “Is this martial law? How do they have the right to come into our home and take everything?”
A Broader Agenda?
Connie Shields, a key supporter and advocate, sees a sinister pattern. “This is a much larger thing than what most people are seeing… It’s part of a larger biosecurity agenda,” she warned. “The Canadian government is highly invested in the pharmaceutical companies that produce the vaccines for both animals and humans.” While the farm fights, Canada has purchased 550,000 H5N1 vaccine doses and Moderna received $590 million for vaccine development. “They’re eliminating any other natural solution,” Connie asserted. “These ostriches have the antibodies for H5N1 that can be put in the feed that the wildlife are eating… It could stop the spread.”
The CFIA’s refusal to retest—despite 51 days without symptomatic deaths—or allow Pseudomonas testing fuels suspicion. “They won’t retest any of our animals,” Katie said. “Even if our ostriches test negative, they’re all going to be killed anyway.” John Davidson pointed out the absurdity: “Assuming that all of your animals based on two dead animals, PCR test, have avian bird flu… shouldn’t something else be dead now? Your real story is you’ve magically found the cure to avian bird flu on your farm, and Canada is covering it up.”
A Call to Arms
With an injunction won on January 31st halting the cull until a judicial review from April 14th-17th, the fight is far from over. “We are fighting for freedom… for better science and to be listened to,” Katie pleaded. “If they win this, it gives the government unlimited power to shut down any farm, cull any livestock, and erase any natural alternatives that threaten corporate interest,” Connie added. Their plea is simple: “Share our story… If everybody could just give five dollars, it could carry us through this case,” Katie urged, directing supporters to SaveOurOstriches.com.
“If they win this, it gives the government unlimited power to shut down any farm, cull any livestock, and erase any natural alternatives that threaten corporate interest,” Connie Shields
As egg prices soar and food security falters, this battle transcends 400 ostriches at a research farm. “This is about stopping a dangerous precedent that could impact every farm, every family, and the future of health discovery,” Connie concluded. For Katie, it’s personal: “These 400 ostriches are fighting for our freedoms… They are a golden ostrich that could change the way we treat disease and illness.” Will the world rally to save them—or watch as another natural solution is stamped out?
Learn how the people who helped bring fentanyl to the market tried to convince the American people that a drug similar to tonic water was deadly. With new updates, statistics, and retractions sprinkled throughout, “Epidemic of Fraud” is a movie anyone concerned with medicine, media, and public policy should see.
Watch now.
Share this post