France has slaughtered 16 million captive birds since the start of the current bird flu epidemic, with a record number of victims slaughtered in the country, authorities said on Monday.
“The peak of the epidemic was at the end of March and the epidemic is slowing down,” said the Ministry of Agriculture.
Since the first case was detected in northern France at the end of November, the virus has spread to 1,364 farms in more than half of the country’s west, where authorities have preemptively ordered major sacrifices, including healthy animals.
Bird flu-related crises are concentrated in southeastern France, particularly in poultry farms for foie gras production. Nearly 500 outbreaks were recorded in 2021, and 3.5 million animals, mainly ducks, were euthanized.
Bird flu, which spreads in migratory animals from Asia, has a seasonal character: in Europe it usually begins in October and lasts until April.
For the first time, wild birds polluted farms on their way back from southern countries, triggering a second wave that is about to end.
These crises have resulted in significant losses for the breeders, as well as for the State, which has to pay compensation for the slaughtered animals, as well as for the associated losses, with the cessation of production and exports.
source: Noticias
