U.S. billionaire is helping fund fight against B.C. ostrich cull
A New York billionaire who is an avid supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump says he is helping fund the legal battle by a British Columbia ostrich farm against an order to cull their flock of about 400 birds after an avian flu outbreak.
John Catsimatidis says he and a friend have contributed about US$35,000 to the legal fight by Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood in B.C.’s Interior, to stop the cull ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Catsimatidis says in an interview that he heard about the farm when the co-owner’s daughter, Katie Pasitney, called the New York radio station that he owns, and Americans are getting involved in the case because they care about the animals.
He says the more he heard about the situation at the farm, the more interested he became, causing him to reach out to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and fellow U.S. health official Dr. Mehmet Oz, both of whom say the birds should be spared.
Catsimatidis, whom Trump has called a longtime friend, says the president is also aware of the case, which Kennedy has raised with him.
He says if the roles were reversed, he would not have a problem with a wealthy Canadian attempting to exert influence on U.S. policy.
“I think the Canadian people and the people of the United States are one people. We depend on each other. We’ve always depended on each other, and we have to help each other, because we’re in the same boat,” he said.
He called the ostriches iconic, ancient animals that deserve to live.
Catsimatidis is best known as the owner of New York City supermarket chain Gristedes and hosts a weekly show on WABC, a radio station he purchased in 2020.
The 76-year-old is CEO of the Red Apple Group of companies, which includes oil refinery and real estate holdings, and has a net worth pegged at US$4.5 billion by Forbes magazine, making him its 875th richest person in the world.
On Monday, Catsimatidis hosted a news conference with Pasitney and Oz, where he spoke of his financial contributions to the legal expenses of the farm owners, whose lawyer wants to take the case to the Supreme Court of Canada after the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the cull order last week.
“I think these animals deserve to live. And if they’re killed, we’re not going to end it there. There’s going to be massive investigations on why the rush to kill these animals,” said Catsimatidis, whose daughter, Andrea Catsimatidis, is chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican party.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the cull in December during an outbreak of H5N1 flu that went on to kill 69 ostriches at the farm that month and in January.
While the farm’s supporters argue the surviving birds are no longer a threat and can be used for research, the agency has maintained that the cull is necessary because exposed flocks create an opportunity for the virus to mutate.
Oz, a former TV personality and surgeon who is now the administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has said the birds should be spared because they could harbour secrets about avian flu, and has offered to have the birds live on his Florida ranch.
globalnews
