SA's ostrich industry gets serious about animal welfare

South Africa's ostrich industry unveiled its Ostrich Production Standard in 2021, and 85% of farms are currently participating in the programme. Dr Adriaan Olivier, industry veterinarian at the South African Ostrich Business Chamber, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the origins of the standard and what is required of producers.

- Glenneis Kriel

Why was the Ostrich Production Standard developed?

The industry had a good Code of Practice, which focused primarily on production management standards. By 2018, however, concerns were being raised that the code wasn’t sufficiently detailed or formalised. Luxury goods company Hermès, the biggest international buyer of high-quality ostrich leather, worked with Klein Karoo International to drive the development of an ostrich standard, and this was officially launched in 2021.

(Klein Karoo International merged with Mosstrich to become Cape Karoo International in 2019.)

What makes the Ostrich Production Standard different from the Code of Practice?

The code was developed by the industry for the industry, whereas the standard touches on every aspect of the ostrich production cycle.

The industry consulted with Exotic Assurance, an Australian company that assisted with the development of the Australian shipping standard for livestock while developing the draft document of the standard. Each point of the draft document was discussed from beginning to end by a committee consisting of producers, buyers, ostrich scientists, researchers and technical experts, animal welfare and environmental management experts, experts in the writing of standards and assessing conformity, regulators, and non-governmental organisations.

Everyone on the committee had the opportunity to raise concerns, present proposals, and argue their opinion. The document was then adapted to reflect the consensus opinion.

What would you say is at the heart of the Ostrich Production Standard?