Apr 16 A Texas industry that seemed all but dead appears to be recovering thanks to Europe's problems with mad cow disease and foot and mouth disease. Germany just placed a huge order for emu meat. The country wants so much that the order will be difficult to fill.
Ranchers hope it's the beginning of a new market for their birds.
Not long ago, Donna Womack would not have allowed new emu eggs to hatch. She was keeping her flock small because no one wanted the birds. Womack is vice president of the American Emu Association. She prospered in the emu frenzy of the 1980's and early 1990's, when breeding pairs fetched thousands of dollars. Then she hung on when desperate ranchers liquidated their birds, clubbed them to death or just turned them loose because they cost more to feed than they were worth.