MARLENE
Rescued from a meat farm
Marlene, the African ostrich
More than a thousand ostrich farms were built in Spain during the 2000s. It was a booming market in Europe, but it was not successful here. By 2015 there were only two farms left standing, so thousands of ostriches were slaughtered. Marlene was lucky: a guy managed to get her from a farm in Aragón. From there he put her in a cubicle where she lived for two years. Ostriches are nomadic animals that need to walk a minimum of 40 kilometres a day, so eventually she became depressed and shut down. Marlene was dying. When the boy realised this, he contacted Josetxo. It took them six hours to get her into the van before they were finally able to move her to the Sanctuary, where she enjoys a large outdoor space and better quality food.
