While ostriches were once indigenous to Saudi Arabia, now they are either farmed for meat or for the purpose of re-introducing them to the wild. The advent of bird flu in the Kingdom will set back both endeavors.
Saudi culls 13,500 ostriches amid bird flu outbreak
RIYADH (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s agriculture ministry has ordered 13,500 ostriches to be destroyed following a new outbreak of bird flu in the kingdom, the Al-Watan newspaper reported on Saturday.
The outbreak of the H5N1 strain of the disease that is dangerous to humans was reported on Thursday evening at a farm in the Al-Kharj region, 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Riyadh, the Arabic language daily said.
Last month, the Saudi authorities ordered nearly four million birds culled in the face of at least 14 separate outbreaks of avian influenza.
There have been no reports of the disease spreading to humans in the oil-rich desert kingdom.
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December:15:2007 - 12:32
The bird flu has not gone away. Earlier this week there was an appeal made on the local news for individuals who had birds in their home (implying birds as pets) to bring them to special stations which had been set up in and around Riyadh. The birds are all being “disposed of.” The government is not taking any chances.