Worse and worse.
Avian flu has spread to three new farms in northern France, bringing the total of farms affected to five since November 26, we learned this Thursday from the Ministry of Agriculture.
On its website, the ministry also counted nine cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (commonly known as avian flu) in wildlife, three cases in captive wildlife (geese or swans not migrating) and three cases in backyards.
The virus had been identified in a first French farm on November 26, on a farm in the town of Warhem in the North, where 160,000 laying hens were reared all year round in buildings.
Four other cases have since been confirmed in the same department.
In each case in breeding, the animals are slaughtered.
3.5 million poultry slaughtered last winter
To reduce the risk of contamination, the health authorities asked at the beginning of November all outdoor and organic producers to confine their poultry in order to avoid contact with migratory birds potentially carrying the virus. The government thus hopes to avoid the tragedy of last winter: France had identified nearly 500 outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry farms, mainly in the South-West known for its production of foie gras. The crisis was stemmed at the cost of slaughtering more than 3.5 million poultry.
This time, the first cases were detected in conventional farms, in buildings, reviving the anger of the agricultural unions Confédération paysanne and Modef who denounce the obligation of confinement. “We have said over and over that locking up animals from free-range farms would not prevent the epidemic, which it does. The risk of the virus spreading in barns has been proven and known for a long time. Making outdoor breeding responsible and culpable only serves the interests of those who wish to industrialize agriculture, ”they said in a press release on Thursday.
Recurrent health crises due to avian influenza generate considerable costs for professionals and the State, as well as losses of the export market.
France has around 20,000 poultry farms raised for meat, eggs or foie gras.
