Thousands of pages of government documents reveal a brutal and sloppy mass killing operation.
Animal Justice has released thousands of pages of government documents shedding light on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)’s fumbled response to the 2022 avian influenza outbreak. In late 2024, CTV National News, in partnership with the Investigative Journalism Foundation, published a story based on our findings, demonstrating just how unprepared the government was to prevent the spread of the disease—and how innocent birds suffered and died as a result.
Avian flu has remained a major threat to birds, and has made its way into public consciousness as the media reports on egg prices and the virus continues to jump species and even infect humans—sparking fears that a serious pandemic may soon emerge.
What most media fails to report on are the heartbreaking, brutal methods used by the CFIA to kill off birds during an outbreak. Many factory farms house tens of thousands of birds in their dark, windowless barns. Because of the sheer number of animals, killing methods are designed to be as efficient as possible, even if it means chickens and turkeys will endure horrific cruelty.
Carbon Dioxide Gassings
According to government documents, nearly 60 percent of infected flocks were killed with carbon dioxide gas in what the CFIA calls “gas chambers”. These are often improvised, with some government guidance suggesting garbage cans or, for larger flocks, shipping containers. The government prefers this method for its simplicity, usually requiring fewer humans to implement. However, the CFIA Common Procedures Manual admits the method can cause more pain and distress for the birds than other methods due to CO2 receptors in the birds’ lungs.
Cervical Dislocation
Another 30% are killed by having their necks snapped—euphemistically called “cervical dislocation” (CD). This method involves ripping and separating the spinal column from the skull either with one’s hands, or with a crude tool. The CFIA seems to recognize the brutality of this method because it recommends farm owners not be present to witness birds having their necks snapped, unless they are familiar with the technique, as it “may be disturbing”. One field report mentions even a portion of a CFIA “destruction” team being unwilling to participate in CD.
The Burdizzo is a clamp-like device sometimes used for CD. It was originally designed for castrating large animals such as cows, goats, and pigs. The Burdizzo often crushes the spinal column rather than separating it from the skull of a bird—despite CFIA documents acknowledging American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines that warn neck crushing can cause pain and distress. The CFIA manual seems to actively encourage Burdizzo use despite noting that birds remain conscious for longer than they do when birds’ necks are snapped by hand.
The Koechner Euthanasia Device (KED) was purpose-designed for euthanasia, though a memo written by a CFIA inspector cited a Virginia Tech study that determined life signs don’t cease for 120 seconds with KEDs. This is even worse than the 40-80 seconds it takes when snapping the necks of birds by hand.
Captive Bolt Pistols
The remaining birds were mostly killed with either Zephyr captive bolt pistols or, in the case of smaller flocks or larger birds like ostriches, lethal injection. There was also some guidance given about using a conventional gun to kill birds who could not be caught, despite the risk of potential non-lethal painful injuries to the animals caused by missed shots.
Nitrogen Foam
Because of a shortage of carbon dioxide gas, and because neck-snapping requires many personnel, the CFIA also looked into foam-based methods for killing barns of birds. One of the files Animal Justice uncovered outlined an October 2022 test killing where they hired a US company (Virginia-based F&L Environmental) to kill an entire barn of healthy birds using nitrogen foam, which deprives them of oxygen.
The experiment was a cruel disaster. The CFIA’s report notes that after a failed attempt at dispersing the foam across the barn, the US company admitted they had never completed a mass killing at a full-sized facility before, and were unable to troubleshoot any problems. Some of the birds were killed by the foam and found dead on their backs, something the inspectors could not definitively explain, physiologically.
Many other birds tried to escape the foam and ended up piled on top of one another against a wall. The vast majority of birds remained alive after the test and were killed by having their necks snapped.
Photos of birds being killed with nitrogen foam, which deprives them of oxygen.
Mass Killings Conducted By Convicted Animal Abusers
The CFIA enlisted outside help to carry out the mass killings. One of the companies they used was Elite Farm Services, which along with Sofina Foods, was fined a combined $600,000 after pleading guilty to animal abuse uncovered in a 2017 Mercy For Animals investigation at a chicken farm. Elite Farm Services employees were seen ripping wings and heads from birds’ bodies, stomping on their necks, and kicking the birds across the barn. CFIA paid Elite over $750,000 between January 2022 and April 2023.
Emails obtained by Animal Justice revealed that both Elite and Etegra (an affiliated company) posed significant biosecurity risks, in some cases making grave biosecurity errors, including: misunderstanding hot (infected) zones and taking off protective gear in the wrong areas; insufficient sanitizing supplies for the number of employees; and not doing a full disinfectant spray prior to removing protective gear.
Government Bailouts for Farms with Bad Biosecurity
Elite wasn’t the only company with a track record of animal abuse to be compensated by the government during the outbreak. When the CFIA orders a flock to be killed, they are obliged to both pay for the “destruction” and to compensate the farm owner for their killed animals—despite many outbreaks originating from poor biosecurity at farms. Over $107 million taxpayer dollars were spent on disposal costs and owner compensation at over 100 farms between January, 2022 and April, 2023.
The biggest payout went to Brome Lake Ducks, a Quebec duck farm that had its license suspended in 2020, after failing to make changes after ordered by the CFIA to stop ducks from having their heads crushed between transport crates. Brome Lake Ducks received a whopping $8.5 million in compensation after their avian influenza-infected flock was killed by the CFIA.
The next-highest payout was Hendrix Genetics, a turkey breeding company infamous for being convicted of animal cruelty after a 2014 Mercy For Animals investigation at their Hybrid Turkeys farm. That investigation showed workers ruthlessly beating birds to death and crushing their necks, and the company was convicted and fined by the court. The CFIA used carbon dioxide gas to kill birds at Hendrix, and a CFIA inspector said they were “shocked” at the number of birds alive after the first gassing. They attempted it again the next day, and there were still many birds alive. The surviving birds were killed manually. The farm was awarded $5.8 million in taxpayer dollars for their small flock of valuable breeding turkeys.
Who Is the CFIA Protecting?
Year after year, both wild and domesticated animals face the increasing threat of zoonotic diseases spreading through Canadian farms. Rather than address the problem directly, the government continues to commit these mass killings while bailing out the very companies incubating these diseases in their intensively-populated factory farms. Farming animals puts animal and human health alike at risk, and it’s time to stop propping up this cruel and dangerous system.
