PAULA: Today I'd like to introduce Ted Hunter,who used to rear sheep and poultry but who is here to tell us about a rather unusual type of livestock that he's been concentrating on in the last few years.Ted Hunter is a member of the Domesticated Ostrich Farming Association,and is here to tell us about the possibilities of breeding and rearing these birds here in this country.
TED: Thank you,Paula.When you look at international restaurant menus and supermarkets they all tend to feature the same range of meats-beef,lamb,chicken,pork,that sort of thing.But people are always interested in something different and we're now finding that farming can bring new types of meat to our tables.The kangaroo is one animal that's now being farmed for its meat and eaten outside Australia,where it comes from.It looks and tastes rather like rabbit,though it's slightly darker in colour,but it is rather tough,so that's a problem for some people.Crocodiles are also being farmed for their meat.This is rather like chicken,pale and tender,and it's getting quite fashionable.Some people also find it's rather fatty,but I think it makes a really tasty sandwich.Now a third type of meat becoming increasingly available,and the one that I think is by far the nicest of the three,is ostrich,which most people say has a similar taste and texture to beef.However,it's much better for you than beef,as we'll see later.