As many as 7,372 emus, seized from a farm at nearby Perundurai which went bust last year, would be auctioned on October 24 here, officials said.

The exercise is being held on the basis of a court order, directing the administration to auction the birds owned by Susi Emu Farm, Perundurai.

At present the birds are under the care of Animal Husbandry and Revenue Officials control.

Three such auctions held in March, April and September has seen a sharp decline in price from Rs 1,350 each to Rs 55.

Three years back the emu was sold at Rs 30,000 each after which prices slowly decreased. Even last year, an emu bird fetched Rs 20,000.

Officials said only buyers from Andhra Pradesh are interested in buying the bird, but are quoting low price.

On Aug 8 last year, eight persons, including the farm owner M S Guru were booked by police for allegedly cheating a large number of people of crore of Rupees by promising lucrative returns on investments in commercial rearing of the bird.

Under the farm’s scheme, people investing huge amounts were assured a monthly income of more than Rs 6,000 each. But the monthly payments quickly dried up and the firm did not respond to pleas of non-payment.

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