Bird flu leads to ostrich cull in South Africa
Thousands of ostriches have been culled in South Africa in one of the country’s worst outbreaks of avian influenza (bird flu). Exports to Europe, the biggest market for South Africa’s ostrich meat, have come to a halt since the EU banned the import of the meat to stop the virus spreading.
Officials do not know if the virus poses a threat to humans, so for now all birds are considered potentially dangerous. South Africa’s ostriches are bred mainly in two provinces, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. The BBC has estimated that with each passing month the industry is losing around $13 million.
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has said the disease seems be under control for now, but more tests are being done on the thousands of ostriches in the country.
“We need to continue running tests until none of the ostriches test positive and we need to maintain this for three months, only then will the ban be lifted and the markets opened again,” the department’s Wouter Kriel told the BBC.
Frik Kriek of the Mosstrich tannery (part of the Mosstrich Group, which consists of an abattoir and tannery in Mossel Bay), told leatherbiz.com: “The result of the culling of ostriches is impacting on the local ostrich industry in various ways. Some of the birds culled were slaughter birds for the current slaughter season and will this have a substantial effect on the total slaughter figure for the current slaughter season that will end June 2012. Estimates are that for this year the slaughter can be down 40%.
“A portion of the birds culled were chicks which would have been slaughtered and will this have a negative impact on quantities slaughtered in the next season. This figure may be lower than the current slaughter season.
“The third group of birds culled were breeding stock which will have a long term negative impact on the industry. The impact of this on future (medium to long term) slaughter quantities is at present an unknown factor. It will also be determined by the willingness of farmers to continue with ostrich farming. It is a sure fact that this situation will have an impact on prices and we will see more regular price increases in the coming months.”
