In Dancourt (near Le Tréport), the place is bucolic with its river crossing and its panorama on the plains of Brayonnes.
It is two years since Victor Capitanio, 27, and Cyril Morisset, 30, arrived on a 6 hectare site with a crush.
But not that, because this factory worker and this money conveyor are animal lovers.
From their native Picardy, they brought with them, among others, 2 male Wallaby and some farm animals "often abandoned or mistreated by their former owners".
After two years of brush clearing and work, the duo opened Le Far West aux Ostriches.
For four opening weekends, several hundred visitors have come to greet Dalida, the first African ostrich to be the basis of a breeding project.
Close to animals
In the new ecological park - everything runs on solar energy - the public will not be surprised to find Panpan, the domesticated peacock who comes your way. Indeed, in a family spirit, parents and children can freely approach the main farm animals including sheep of a rare species, a mini-cow or donkeys saved from abusive hands. During guided tours, the founders themselves present the Wallaby including a baby of a few weeks, the Ostrich, an Emu and a Rhea. In the evening, tourists can enjoy nature thanks to unusual accommodation such as the Indian tipi or the chalet planted on the banks of the Yères. Soon a trailer will be added but also other representatives of the fauna such as Makki Catta on an island "for work on reproduction", Alpacas,deer and camels.
Create a sector
But before that, The Wild West of the Ostriches will live up to its name because by 2023, the number of birds will amount to nearly 80 specimens "from hatching to plate.
We set up a Made in Normandy ostrich farm for the meat and why not the feathers.
We have to set up a sector by finding a local slaughterhouse, because the only one currently is in Orléans (Loiret).
Afterwards, we are going to sell the meat on the farm, in our restaurant, in the markets and at a few dealers of local products, ”explains Cyril Morisset.
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So, within a few days “two trios (one male for two females) will start reproduction. You have to take precautions because they are wild and dangerous animals. In the wild, an ostrich can kill a lion with a kick of its paw. It is not easy to breed especially during the breeding and brooding period. These are birds that cannot be domesticated, ”adds Victor Capitanio. But with more than “6,500 tonnes consumed per year, 2/3 of which are imported, there is a market for meat that is good for health, because it is fat-free”.
