Avian Flu Response

(Updated November 29th, 2025):

It’s hard to find the right words. (Happy, Crying, Relieved, Sad) This journey has been heavy, emotional, and at times overwhelming — but it has also brought incredible affirmation.

Every step, every protocol, every biosecurity measure we already had in place was validated. Because of that, our beautiful peacocks, Jake and Nicolaj, were not exposed and are now exempt and safe.

As with our previous updates, this one is also long, but we hope it provides clarity about the steps we were required to take and the standards we met along the way.

For any sanctuary wanting support or guidance, we are creating a detailed package outlining the procedures, requirements, and timelines we went through.

If you’d like a copy, please email me and I will gladly share it when finished. We are all in this together, and if our experience can help even one organization protect their animals, it will be worth it. The following are steps we followed to get us here.

1. Licensing Requirements

Under the Health of Animals Act (Section 25.1), no movement on or off the property was permitted without a CFIA-issued license. This applied to:
- All private vehicles entering or leaving.
- Any outerwear or footwear exposed to birds.
- Any eggs, feed, manure, litter, or items exposed to birds, all of which were prohibited.
- No visitors allowed near barns or avian enclosures.
- CFIA-approved biocontainment procedures required at all times.
So we complied. Every movement was licensed. Every rule was followed.

2. Quarantine Orders

CFIA regulations required immediate quarantine when disease was suspected. Once quarantined:
- Nothing could be moved without authorization.
- No animals or items could come into contact with non-quarantined animals.
- No treatment, testing, or destruction could occur without approval.
- Any sick animal had to be immediately reported to a veterinary inspector.
- No movement could occur without a license, and penalties for non-compliance include fines up to $200,000 or up to 2 years imprisonment.
So we complied. Fully.

3. Declaration of an Infected Place

Our premises were formally declared an Infected Place, which meant:
- All avian species and related items on site were restricted.
- Any movement on or off the property required licensing for any reason.
- All products or waste remained contained.
- We had to ensure that all our volunteers who were deemed essential, understood these restrictions and we also had to increase the hours the main 4 volunteers where at the sanctuary to monitor all areas for compliance.
And we complied — exactly as required.

4. Cleaning and Disinfection (C&D)

CFIA’s standards are extensive. They include:
- Complete dry cleaning of coops, barns, enclosures, nest boxes, feeders, waterers, vents.
- Removal of manure, feathers, litter, perches and boxes.
- Clearing laneways, roadways, and outdoor runs.
- Cleaning and disinfecting all equipment used in disposal or handling.
- For non-commercial sites like ours, if some areas cannot be fully cleaned, they must remain fallow for 120 days which they provided us those details after inspections were completed on our cleaning and disinfection.
We completed all required C&D.

5. Oversight, Meetings, & Passing Each Stage

Throughout this process, we:
- Had multiple lengthy meetings with CFIA, (in person, video and phone calls).
- Were assigned a dedicated case agent who was available and helpful.
- Had to produce live, on-the-spot documentation (biosecurity plans, medical logs, standard procedures). This was a very important 5 hour meeting. If our systems were not in place, this is where we would have lost.
- Providing solid documentation, showing our dedication to cleaning and disinfecting daily plus our historical data to show segregation for the upper and lower sections of our property was single handedly the most important piece. Segregation of volunteers, feed, equipment and all with records.
- Could not advance unless every requirement in this section was met. We passed their standards and moved to the next phase.
  They called to test the birds and the results came in negative.
Special THANK YOU to our volunteers: to everyone with boots on the ground — you built this sanctuary, and you made compliance possible. With everything each and everyone of you do, every time you walk through those gates, assisted in saving those Jake and Nicolaj. We know why you do this, but I hope you take some pride in a little extra moment every day you see these boys.

6. The Human Side

While all of this was unfolding, we still had to deal with the loss, the trauma of euthanizing our ducks, all the paperwork, the cleaning, the social media positive and negative, the media, the stress of it all…….. we still had:
- 100 other animals to care for.
- Vet transports to arrange, animals in need of medical assistance in house and outreach
- A beloved volunteer suffered the loss of her husband during this time.
- The heartbreaking goodbye of Tiny, one of our cherished goats
- The losses during this time were heavy. Some moments stop the heart — but not the soul. We carry each one with us.

7. What Comes Next — Growth, Learning & Advocacy

This experience didn’t just raise questions — it opened dialog for the importance of our role in animal welfare:
- How do we protect small-scale flocks?
- What are the impacts when Avian Flu spreads across sanctuaries that house mixed-species? (as most of us do).
- Can we support other sanctuaries with mixed-species rescue environments with information that might be beneficial to them from our experience?
- Where do vaccines fit in?
- Through this experience, we’ve been invited to join several committees where we can bring forward our questions, learn from experts, and contribute to broader discussions. We feel fortunate to have these doors open and look forward to strengthening our processes so we can continue creating safer, more informed environments for all animals in sanctuary care.

8. To Our Community

Thank you for your understanding.
Thank you to those who asked questions respectfully.
Thank you for recognizing that each person’s experience through this was unique.
We should not be punished because our experience wasn’t negative — and we are choosing to move forward with positivity and purpose.

9. We Are Now Re-Open as of November 29, 2025

This will be our final post on this matter.
Thank you all for the compassion, patience, and calm you showed when we needed it most.
The animals felt it.
We felt it.
And now we can finally breathe again.

❤️ The Critteraid Team

(Updated November 20th, 2025):

We are now on day 21 of what has been an intense crash course in Avian Flu. There are still many questions we are navigating, and we want to share our experience – not as experts, but as volunteers committed to learning and sharing with our community. We are still closed.

This post is long, and we’ve included information on:

How Avian Flu is transmitted
Guidance we’ve been given on navigating risks
Updates on our peacocks

We are not trying to be controversial. This is simply an effort to share information and experiences so that together we can research, learn and improve safety for all sanctuary animals. If you disagree with anything, please know that we are volunteers doing our best – not professionals in this field – and we ask for respect in your responses.

While 21 days does not make us experts, it has shown us that there is a real opportunity to create new platforms for sanctuary-level guidance and solutions, and we are committed to participating in that process for growth in safety process for our animals.

For anyone who wants to learn more pertaining to animal sanctuaries, we will continue to share what we’ve learned. For those who understand that this is a journey and not perfect, thank you for supporting us as we work to turn this challenging experience into a learning opportunity for all.

Question 1: is Avian Flu airborne?

No – Avian Flu is not airborne for the general public. It does not spread through the air like seasonal flu or COVID.

You cannot catch it by:

Walking near a sanctuary or farm.
Breathing outdoor air.
Living beside a property where birds have been sick.
Driving past barns.

The only environment where airborne risk can exist is inside enclosed barns where infected birds are actively shedding virus into dust or droplets. This affects not only workers inside those barns, not neighbours or the community.

Bottom Line:

Avian Flu is not airborne in the community.
Human infection requires direct, close exposure to sick or dead birds or heavily contaminated material. The general public is not at risk from the air.

Question 2: Can Critteraid volunteers who were exposed pass Avian Flu to the public?

No – exposed volunteers cannot pass Avian Flu to anyone.

Here’s the factual breakdown:

Avian Flu does not spread person-to-person. Worldwide surveillance shows almost zero human-to-human transmission of avian influenza. There has never been a case of someone catching it from:
1. Casual contact.
2. Talking with someone.
3. Sharing air.
4. Being in the same room.
5. Passing someone in public.

For a person to infect someone else, Avian Flu would have to mutate into a human-transmissible form – and that has not happened.

Exposure ≠ to infection (and none of the volunteers are infected.)

Being “exposed” simply means being near an affected environment. It does not mean someone is sick.

How we are dealing with biosecurity protocols to prevent transmission:
1. Volunteers followed strict containment procedures including PPE in Coops, footbaths & shoe disinfection, restricted movement, cleaning and sanitation.
2. Everyone is cleared through Interior health that was directly exposed to the birds, as we are now past monitoring time frame.
3. Just for reference and information to share – the virus cannot travel from an exposed person to the public. There is no mechanism for a volunteer to breathe it out, cough it into the air, spread it through clothing, pass it on to stores, workplaces or homes. Avian Flu requires direct contact with infected birds or contaminated environments.

Bottom Line for the Community

Avian Flu is not airborne in the community.
It does not spread person-to-person.
Critteraid volunteers cannot pass Avian Flu to anyone.
The Community is completely safe.

Question 3 The Peacocks Formal Appeal: Consideration for Peacocks.

(I wrote the following letter to CFIA)

We have fully complied with all directives concerning our chickens and ducks. Veterinary appointments are scheduled for Friday to ensure humane euthanasia is carried out in accordance with current biosecurity and containment requirements. While this has been a heartbreaking process, as these birds have been with us for as long as 18 years and have names, personalities, and are very loved, we understand the necessity of these measures for the protection of animal and public health.

However I wish to present relevant information for your consideration regarding the peacocks. These birds have been completely isolated from the lower areas of the sanctuary and from all waterfowl. They are not waterfowl species and therefore do not share the same exposure risk factors associated with Avian Influenza transmission in aquatic environments. Their enclosure is located a significant distance from the affected zones, with no shared food, water sources or direct contact with other birds under restriction.

Our goal is not to challenge the intent of the directive, but to provide clear context that may allow for a science-based, risk-mitigated exemption in this case. We remain committed to full transparency, continued observation, and any enhanced monitoring or testing deemed necessary to ensure compliance and containment.

Like the ducks, these birds have been part of our sanctuary for many years and have not displayed any clinical signs of illness. But unlike the ducks, because of their separation of locations and protocol, we believe there is a justifiable and manageable path forward that would allow them to be spared without compromising broader containment efforts.

I deeply appreciate your consideration of this request and your understanding of the emotional and ethical complexities involved in such difficult decisions. Please know that we remain cooperative and committed to following all recommendations to ensure both animal welfare and disease control are upheld.

With sincere respect and gratitude,

We are still in an active investigation regarding the peacocks as the CFIA has to cover their mandates as well. We do not have an answer to date if they will be spared or not.

This experience has also raised serious questions about the future of “domestic animals” and how sanctuaries can reasonably operate under standards designed for commercial farms.

I am still completing the required reports on the peacocks, but this has been an eye-opening process, highlighting both what we are doing correctly and what is simply beyond our control. As a sanctuary, it is impossible for us to meet commercial-level biosecurity requirements for “confined for consumption” animals vs ‘live their lives forever in safety” sanctuary animals.

In every other respect, we meet the expectations placed on us. This situation is harsh but instantly makes us look at what the future holds for all domestic animals.

We do believe that we may have been put on this path to assist the future generations to navigate as we are truly left with many concerns and not a lot of answers.

We truly don’t know what this means for the future of our sanctuary.

This is not meant to send shockwaves, but we have been given a glimpse of what the options to us and our animals are. Now as a sanctuary, we are unsure of what this means. I have more questions than answers but will share.

Thank you for the support.

(Updated November 10th, 2025):

Questions from the Public

1. How did you first realize something was wrong and how the positive H5N1 result was confirmed?

We have a lab in Abbotsford that confirmed H5, then a lab in Winnipeg confirmed the severity of the H5 strain to H5N1.

2. How many and what type of animals tested positive?

3 chickens.

3. What steps are you taking on the ground now to protect the animals and your volunteers?

Immediate closure to all volunteers and public. Interior Health was involved to be available to all volunteers that were exposed to ensure their level of comfort was achieved.

4. What would you like the public to know about Critteraid, your animals, and what this has been like for your team?

Trying to make all the right decisions, navigate the complexities of mandates and regulations, what is correct, what is a mistake, making the right decisions for the animals, protecting us/them, obligation to community, the unwavering support, the unjustified hate, sleepless nights, and I miss my mom moments… It’s a pressure I have never felt before, and the crash course has given us clarity on what must be done next.

5. Are we getting threats?

Yes.

6. Are we evacuating our animals from the farm?

7. Is CFIA going after (culling/killing) all of our animals, including dogs and cats?

8. Can the public help by adopting/taking animals from the sanctuary?

Appreciated, but we would rather do adoptions when people can make that decision out of wanting to instead of fear.

9. Is the CFIA bringing dead, massacred, beheaded ostriches to the farm?

Absolutely no.

10. Have we received ostriches from a farm in Enderby?

11. Do we have anything to do with the petition started on change.org by Nicole Corrado?

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-forced-culling-of-critteraid-animalsNo.

12. Do we have anything to do with the petition started on https://www.thepetitionsite.com/618/915/297/stop-the-cfia-slaughter-at-critteraid-sanctuary/

13. Does this mean the sanctuary will not be able to welcome new animals for some time?

Once the CFIA completes their assessment of decontamination, we could receive more birds in 30 days. But we at Critteraid have questions and concerns to rectify before we do any such thing.

(Originally Shared November 7th, 2025):

With Profound Sadness, we share:

Over the past few days, our sanctuary family has been facing one of the most heartbreaking experiences in our history. We are navigating a situation that has required immediate action, coordination with veterinary professionals, federal (CFIA) regulatory authorities, Interior Health and Epidemiology divisions as we had positive case of H5N1 at our sanctuary.

Our team and volunteers are devastated. The animals in our care are the center of everything we do, and the emotional weight of this moment is immense.

Because this situation is still active and regulated, we are simply consumed with this horror. We want to be very clear: we are not hiding anything from our community. We are simply trying to move through this with care, accuracy, and integrity while also supporting our animals and each other.

We will share everything with our experience. The facts we are getting a crash course in, may be able to help the next sanctuaries as these situations are designed for rapid responses wrapped in navigating the differentiating factors of being put into a commercial category.
For now, we ask for:

Compassion
Patience
And understanding

Our commitment to the animals, to transparency, and to this community has not changed and will never change.
If you need to reach us, please do so with kindness. Our hearts are fragile right now.

Love,
Your Critteraid Family

FAQ

1. What happened?

On Sunday, October 25, 2025, our rooster, Delta, exhibited signs of illness and passed away. We were making arrangements to send Delta to the lab (historically, we have sent many birds when a passing has something we can’t explain). Monday upon arrival, we had 3 more birds pass, so we sent 3 birds off. Between October 26th and October 28th, we had 8 chickens die suddenly, leaving 2 extremely sick that we euthanized on the 29th after getting confirmation of H5N1.
During this time period, we sent samples for testing to determine the cause, and we were informed on October 29th that the chickens had the avian flu. (H5 from Abbotsford and second lab out of Winnipeg to determine H5N1 strain)

2. What did we do next?

We immediately shut the farm down for all but essential personnel.
We are working with Interior Health (to look after our humans).
Navigate CFIA protocol for containment and lockdown of areas.
On Nov 8th, we took the heartbreaking option to compassionately euthanize our 5 ducks ourselves and not have the disposal team conduct so we could ensure it was done our way with love and dignity. Charles was 18 years old, Martin was 9, Cossette was 12, Bernie 7, and Thelma 5 years old. We loved them dearly.
The farm remains closed to all but essential personnel.

3. What is avian influenza – bird flu?

Avian influenza (bird flu) is a highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects birds but can also infect some mammals and humans.

4. What type of avian flu is present at the sanctuary?

H5N1. While H5N1 primarily affects birds and causes severe disease with high fatalities, it can also infect mammals (including cats, dogs, cows, pigs, goats, and others) and humans.

5. How serious is H5N1 for humans?

Human cases are very rare — 900 cases worldwide, 2 cases in Canada.
But if you catch it, it is very serious. Reported that about 52–53% of confirmed human H5N1 cases have resulted in death.

6. How does avian flu spread?

Wild birds, especially waterfowl, are common carriers.
The virus spreads through direct contact with infected birds, their droppings, secretions/saliva, feathers, or contaminated surfaces (like shoes, clothing, equipment, or feed).
People can also carry the virus on their clothing, shoes, and vehicle tires.

7. How do wild birds have access to the sanctuary?

The sanctuary sits directly under a migratory bird path, and wild birds regularly land on the property. We cannot prevent this. We also live in the Okanagan, which has lakes, beaches, geese, and ducks.

8. What are we doing about the risks?

We are working with Interior Health to make sure we provided a list of everyone for contact tracing. They start with the front line of volunteers who had direct contact (we held, comforted, inspected most of the birds without any PPE before we knew what we were dealing with), and Interior Health assisted each one with testing and antivirals if deemed necessary after their assessment.
The farm is shut down to all but essential personnel to make sure we can keep everyone safe.
Essential personnel at the farm are following strict protocols while they do their tasks to minimize risk.
We are working with an epidemiologist to make sure that all of our other animals at the farm and cat sanctuary are protected.
It’s important to note that no humans have tested positive, had any symptoms, or felt sick in any way to date.

9. Will we have birds again at the farm?

Now more than ever, we feel we need to educate ourselves further to ensure we have a safe environment for birds in the future.

10. How long will the farm be closed?

We don’t know at this time, but we will be keeping everyone updated on our social media and our website.