Emu Breeding Boom Collapsed Quickly

In the early 1990s, American ranchers promoted emu meat as a lean, healthy alternative to beef, triggering a speculative breeding craze. As new investors rushed into the market, breeding pairs sold for as much as $60,000 and unhatched chicks fetched up to $4,000. The expected consumer market never developed, prices collapsed, and many ranchers abandoned birds they could no longer afford to feed.

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