JOHANNESBURG — Clambering onto an ostrich for a ride used to be popular among tourists in a South African town known as the “ostrich capital of the world.”
Not so much anymore.
Two major ostrich farms in the Oudtshoorn area have stopped offering ostrich rides to tourists, responding to concerns from European clients and others about the birds’ welfare. A third farm is sticking with the feature, saying its regulations include tourist weight restrictions and that an ostrich does not experience discomfort while trotting with someone on its back for 10 seconds or so.
The debate is part of a wider discussion in Africa and beyond about the ethics of human interaction with certain animals for entertainment or other purposes. Ostrich farmers stress that riding an ostrich is different from riding an elephant, which would need to be trained. Nor, they say, can it be compared with the petting of lion cubs, whose time in captivity prevents them from learning how to survive in the wild.
But ostrich rides are now viewed with distaste by many clients, said Douglas Bester, owner of Cango ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn. The farm scrapped rides at the end of February.
