PENGERANG, Johor: As Colin Teh walked across a sandy paddock of the Desaru Ostrich Farm, one of the dozens of flightless, shaggy-feathered birds he owns wandered over and nipped at his collar.
In a recent interview with CNA at his farm, Teh looked back on his career and how he had to make some sacrifices to keep the business going over the last 28 years. “People often have very wrong perceptions of ostriches. Just because they are tall and strange looking, they think ostriches are aggressive. But I’ve learned that ostriches are docile and adorable if treated correctly,” said Teh.
After this first 30, he bought another batch of 70 birds in the next month and by the year 2000, decided to move his farm from Semenyih to the farm's current location in Sungai Rengit, a town in southeast Johor.“It is close to Singapore, so it’s very convenient for me to go back and visit my family,” said Teh.
The Movement Control Order imposed during the pandemic by the Malaysian government meant that visitors from Singapore were also not allowed to cross the borders freely to visit. Even that was not sufficient. As the pandemic raged on and the farm’s future became increasingly jeopardised, Teh realised he had no choice but to cull “a large number” of his birds for meat to vendors so that he could generate some revenue and lower costs.In 2019, the farm had around 300 ostriches. But today, there are only around 100 left as some died naturally while others were culled.“When you talk about culling ostriches, I was hesitant.
However, he admitted that finding a successor to lead operations at the farm is not easy. Teh said that his children are now busy with their own careers.
Pls . Ostriches , crocodiles etc are meant to be in their natural habitat , in the wild . Not on farms.