Farmers to be assisted to cull their ostriches

Lusanda Bill
29 July 2011

With more than 31-thousand ostriches culled in the Western Cape so far due to the avian flu outbreak, farmers are now battling to get their healthy birds sold.

Millions-of-Rands have been made available to compensate farmers whose birds had to been destroyed.

The Western Cape Agriculture MEC Gerrit van Rensburg is now working on ways to assist farmers who do not have to cull their ostriches, but still have to feed them with no income.

Department spokesperson Wouter Kriel says this is not just a Western Cape problem but a nationwide problem.