Most people think of ostriches as wild animals,but infact ostriches have been farmed in South Africa sincearound 1860.At first they were produced for theirfeathers.In Africa they were used for tribalceremonial dress and they were also exported toEurope and America where they were made intoladies' fans and used for decoratinghats.Later,feather fans and big,decorated hats wentout of fashion but ostriches were still bred,this timefor their hide.This can be treated to produce abouthalf a square metre of leather-very delicate,finestuff of very good quality.
At the same time,some of the meat was used for biltong-the air-fried strips of meat popular inSouth Africa as a sort of fast food.