Avian flu causes grave concern for an economy based on ostriches

Ostrich flu is an issue South Africa cannot afford to bury its head over

The ostrich, a bird known for its impossibly long eyelashes and reputed habit of hiding its head in the sand, has long underpinned the economy of a dusty outpost in South Africa's Cape region.

So the latest outbreak of avian flu is devastating news to farmers who depend on the bird for their income. At the weekend, the UAE became the latest country to ban imports of ostrich products from South Africa.

Signs of the disease were found on a farm outside the town of Oudtshoorn, about 500km east of Cape Town. More than 5,000 birds have already been culled.

During the last outbreak in 2004, 26,000 birds were slaughtered at a cost of 600 million rand (Dh334.6m) in exports. For the semi-desert region another mass cull would be devastating.

"It's a virus and it's spread by birds," said Wouter Kriel, the spokesman for the Western Cape department of agriculture. "You can't really prevent birds from interacting with animals on your farm."

Mr Kriel added the H5N2 strain did not pose a health risk to humans.

South Africa exports about 80 per cent of the world's ostrich products and almost all of this comes from the Oudtshoorn area. Produce from the giant bird includes hat feathers, leather and meat.

The fortunes of the ostrich have waxed and waned over the years. Hunted to near extinction in the 19th century, the birds were saved by the craze among European women for feathered hats in the late 1800s.

Local farmers became instant millionaires, building huge mansions that still dot the desert countryside.

But the invention of the car, which made wearing large hats impractical, almost destroyed the industry. Ostrich farming was all but abandoned and the number of birds dwindled again.

A revival of sorts began in the 1960s as demand came from the US cowboy boot industry, which prized ostrich leather.

In the years since, ostrich skin has commanded a premium for fashion designers. It is possible to pick up a pair of Stefano Ricci ostrich leather loafers for Dh9,600 in an Abu Dhabi boutique.

Their meat is also valued by food faddists for its beef-like taste, but low cholesterol and fat content.

And for farmers, ostriches make the ideal livestock animal. They grow fast, require little feed and, weighing in at about 180kg, provide plenty of meat, leather and feathers.

Ostriches also have value while still alive, playing an important part in the area's tourism industry. About 150,000 visitors pass through each year, spending money on ostrich rides, eggs and accommodation on farms.

Even their eggs are put to use. Local craftsmen use them for decoupage, which they flog to tourists at up to 330 rand an item.

And the UK speciality store Clarence Court sells fresh ostrich eggs for about £20 (Dh122) each. The store advises it takes two hours to hard-boil an egg and 50 minutes if you like it soft.

As a result, about 1 billion rand of ostrich products are exported every year. South Africa no longer has the monopoly on ostrich production but it still has by far the largest population of the birds in the world.

Another mass cull and export ban could open the way for competitors to step in.

The deserts around Abu Dhabi were once home to flocks of ostriches, which were hunted to extinction in the 1960s. But at least one farmer in the emirate has begun breeding them commercially, using eggs from Somalia. Large farms already exist in the US, New Zealand and even Korea.

The department of agriculture has set up a team and dispatched veterinary experts to the Oudtshoorn area to assess the situation.

A self-imposed ban on slaughtering and all movements of birds has been put in place, even on wildlife ranches, putting a halt to trophy hunting for the time being.

But farmers have yet to be told if they will receive compensation for losses, although government officials have said this is being considered.

For the many people dependent on ostriches for their income, this is small comfort. The last time the area was hit by disease it also cost 4,000 people their jobs.

"This is very bad," says Willem Petrus, a farm worker from Oudtshoorn. "Without birds, we have no work. And without work, we don't eat."