Ostrich and emus keepers can also apply for colony development support

(Photo: Pixabay)

Sándor Farkas said that, in the new support cycle, special attention will also be paid to the support of farmers engaged in animal husbandry. In the case of the call entitled “Support for the development of animal farms”, the amount of support that can be awarded is a minimum of 200 million and a maximum of 5 billion forints, and in the case of the call for “Support for the renewal of animal farms”, the maximum amount that can be awarded is HUF 200 million. These calls will be open to a wide range of livestock farms, so ostrich and emus farmers will also be able to apply. He explained that the regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the establishment of special hygiene rules for food of animal origin classifies ratites in the “farmed game” category, and they can be slaughtered basically in the same way as other land mammals not belonging to the “domesticated ungulates” category. According to the deputy minister, this is important because the EU regulations, if certain conditions are met, allow the slaughter of farmed game at the place of origin, primarily for the welfare of the animals and the protection of the staff handling the animals.

In Hungary, small producers also have the opportunity to butcher ostriches and sell their meat

Currently, there are abattoirs or stabbing points authorized for the slaughter of migratory birds in the counties of Bács-Kiskun, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Pest, and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. A total of 11 facilities cut or cut ratites, and 6 facilities are authorized to process them, he informed.

AM