Taking a Stand on Heads in the Sand

The ugly ostrich is at the center of a state government struggle over whether it’s a domestic animal, like a cow, or an exotic bird that requires special protection.

The final decision could mean big bucks to a handful of Florida farmers who raise ostriches for their meat, hide and feathers.

State Rep. Sam Mitchell (D-Vernon), who said he has constituents who want to raise ostriches for profit, sponsored a change in the law that classified the big birds as domestic livestock--the same as cattle, goats, sheep and pigs.

The change was also intended to free them from the control of the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, which regulates exotic animals.

But the commission has refused to give up its constitutional authority to require special fencing and shelter for ostriches, commission Maj. Kyle Hill said.

People who show ostriches, which grow to heights of an average professional basketball player and weigh up to 400 pounds, must also have at least a year’s experience with the birds.

Ostrich breeder Mary Wilson of Riverview said there’s no need for controversy. Breeders all put up sufficient fencing so the birds won’t run away, and her experience is they don’t care much about shelter.

“You could put up every shelter in the world, and these guys will lie out in the rain,” she said.

But Wilson compared the danger of an ostrich to that of a domestic bull.

“You just have to know what you’re doing,” Wilson said.