[The African ostrich--a "useful animal" in Germany?]

Farming of the ostrich--a non domesticated species--cannot be done species-conforming; it is even a cruelty to the animals. Keeping in captivity leads to a steady rank order stress; the biology of their reproduction is heavily impaired and their typical moving requirements can only be poorly satisfied. The specific habit of food intake cannot be performed accordingly, and the early deprivation, caused by the absence of parents during the weanling period, creates extremely abnormal behaviour. Summing up, all these deficiencies constitute the fact of cruelty to animals according to the German Animal Protection Act.