Back in February when we first told you of ostriches living in Belize, many people scoffed, thinking, "there's no way that'll take flight." Well, we're here to tell you that ostriches are about to become the next big industry in Belize.
That's right - pretty soon you could be seeing grilled ostrich on the menu of your favourite high end restaurant. It's a dream that ostrich farmer, Nancy Marin, has had for the past seven years, along with generating more foreign exchange with a new high value product to export.
And, according to the Ministry of New Growth Industries, that dream may be realised in the next few months.
Courtney Menzies:
"How far are we from this becoming an actual industry in Belize?"
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs & New Growth Industries
"I would say we're very close, as you know, over the years, a particular investor, Ms Nancy Marin has expressed a lot of interest in this particular industry and she mentioned it just now, it's some seven years in the making but we're certainly now as a new government, paying close attention to it, getting all of the relevant departments onboard, we just had a very productive and successful meeting with BAHA, we got all of their conditions and their requirements in place, certainly that Ms Marin will be able to meet, likewise Ms Marin has had meetings with the Forestry Department, and so it's just getting all of these conditions in place and so I am expecting within the next couple months, that this should be a new industry for Belize."
Courtney Menzies:
"Is there any reservations that BAHA brought out during the meeting?"
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs & New Growth Industries
"Of course there are reservations, like I said, it's considered a wild animal, they've done their risk analysis and they have determined that the risk is fairly insignificant so it's just to ensure that when importing the animal, that we are keeping within the requirements, keeping within these conditions, to make sure, of course, complying with the zoosanitary aspects of it that they're clean and that they're not suffering from any injuries or wounds when importing them, and of course not carrying any disease."
Nancy Marin, Ostrich Farmer
"It was a very highly technical meeting, we discussed the expectations of BAHA and the requirements that we need to fulfil for importation, and the fact that the government will allow ostriches to be the next industry in our country. The next step is that I'm asking that it be classified as livestock, versus being classified as a poultry, so that is where we are at right now. I'm also waiting for the CITES requirements from Forestry, it is important for us to regulate these under CITES because the intention of the industry is to then export the meat so because of exportation, it is important for us to meet all of these regulations and we're happy to and I am personally very glad, finally, I'm getting professional people after seven years of fighting."
Courtney Menzies:
"I remember you saying you had to pay a few thousands for one ostrich, is the investment worth it?"
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs & New Growth Industries
"The investment is definitely worth it, and the more we buy, the price will decrease, but also remember that this is just the start that we're buying, we're buying our breeders, the high quality breeders that we need to bring into Belize, after that we produce and ostrich lays 50 to 70 eggs a year and we incubate and even if we get 50 percent, I believe we will get higher, it is still a good start and we will be able to control our market and our prices."
But can ostrich replace beef dishes in restaurants? And just how much will that cost? Plus - will Belizeans be open to eating an animal they've only seen on TV? We asked Marin what she thought.
Nancy Marin, Ostrich Farmer
"My plan right after this is I am going to ask BAHA for a small breeder, a permit for just a small amount of time so that we bring in some meat and key stakeholders to try it, restauranteurs, resort owners, farmers, people that really want to try it, but I can't guarantee you, I've eaten ostrich for years, all over the world you can find it, and it tastes like beef, it is soft like chicken but the flavour is beef, it's a red meat, it's very nice."
Courtney Menzies:
"Do you think it'll be cheaper, because you know most Belizeans can't go into a restaurant and order steak, it's too expensive, do you think it'll be cheaper as well?"
Nancy Marin, Ostrich Farmer
"I think in the beginning as we try, it might be a little pricey, and we can definitely keep an export price, and keep a domestic price. We will control this industry and we will decide what to do, and when I say we, I mean the farmers."
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs & New Growth Industries
"It's definitely not something that we accustomed to, seeing ostriches, it is considered wild, it's not considered a domestic animal so to speak, but I think once the farmers get a hang of it, definitely it's going to be something that we'll see more and more farmers considering as an option and from what I am told, it's a very delicious meat, so I look forward to trying it myself."
