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(New York, NY) – The push is on to save the ostriches. 77 WABC owner-operator John Catsimatidis, a noted animal lover, has teamed up with Health and Humans Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a bid to save ostriches slated for culling in Canada.
Catsimatidis appeared on Sid and Friends in the Morning to discuss this latest effort:
Catsimatidis has been raising the alarm on his show “Cats and Cosby,” as there are upward of 400 ostriches that may be killed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, due to the risk of bird flu. This is at the Universal Ostrich Farm in British Columbia. A report in the New York Post has detailed how Catsimatidis and Kennedy Jr. are now in partnership. “Let’s save the ostriches! They have a right to live if they are healthy,” Catsimatidis told the paper. He added, “we’re dealing with a bunch of bureaucrats in Canada. They’re mean-spirited. Test the ostriches. They are not sick!” The grocery store operator and programmer/radio host added that the ostriches may have “herd immunity” a this point.
“I love animals. Let’s save the whales, too,” Catsimatidis said. He also intends to help protect whales from the risks associated with off-shore wind projects, turbines, and the vibrations that may impact their navigation patterns.
Meanwhile, RFK Jr. made his feelings clear in a published letter co-signed by NIH Director Jay Bhattachary and FDA Commissioner Martin Makary. It reads: “Ostriches can live up to 50 years, providing the opportunity for future insights into immune longevity associated with the H5N1 virus. The indiscriminate destruction of entire flocks without up-to-date testing and evaluation can have significant consequences, including the loss of valuable genetic stock that may help explain risk factors for H5N1 mortality. This may be important for future agricultural resilience.”
The letter also broadly criticizes the ongoing culling of animals as tied to the bird flu, calling the policies “fruitless unless we are willing to exterminate every wild bird in North America.”
