The situation deeply worries farmers. Avian influenza, which reappeared in the southwest in early May, continues to accelerate its progression, with more than 50 outbreaks reported in duck and poultry farms, particularly in Gers, as we learned from consistent sources on Monday.
France, categorized as high risk since November 2022, experienced a lull in the epidemic in March and April and even dropped to “moderate risk” at the end of April. But the episode resumed in May, much earlier than usual. Since the beginning of May, 900,000 animals have been slaughtered in the Landes, Geres and the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, according to the agricultural union Modef, making it “a major crisis and not just a new outbreak of the virus,” according to Christophe Mesplede, vice president. president of the trade union in the Landes.
“We are coping with a huge crisis, a real viral fire,” said Bernard Malabiradé, president of the Geres Chamber of Agriculture, where there have been 41 bird flu outbreaks. In this department, where he says the situation is “evolving”, a new epicenter has emerged near Masseube, in the south of the department, where several outbreaks have been identified. “The situation there is not good, it is even out of control,” explains Bernard Malabiradé. “The virus, previously concentrated in the west of the department, is now spreading to the south,” the prefecture of Geras confirmed, referring to the first cases detected near Landes in early May.
Alarms for Christmas
In the neighboring department of Landes, according to Modef, 14 outbreaks were detected against only four on May 17. “The pollution is huge,” the union commented on Monday.
While ducklings are expected to arrive on farms in June, breeders are already concerned about year-end production needed to keep the sector’s economy going. “Now Christmas is being played out and the severity of this crisis is being played out today. If the depopulation continues, we are finished,” emphasizes Melanie Martin, president of Modef. During this 2022-2023 epizootic, six million birds were killed in France, after 22 million birds were slaughtered in 2021-2022, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Source: Le Parisien
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