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As the disease takes hold in France in an endemic way, farmers fear the total disappearance of their industry. And ask for a vaccine, quickly!
Par Geraldine Woessner
“No matter how much we protect farms, the epidemic seems out of control,” whispers Éric Dumas, who raises fat ducks in Horsarrieu, in the Landes.© FRANK PERRY / AFP
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IThey spent the autumn with their noses in the clouds, watching the birds fly by. The avian flu epidemic that decimated farms in the spring is once again spreading, forcing the slaughter of over 20 million heads of poultry in France. As of 25 November, 75 farms had been affected by the 1is August. On December 8, the Ministry of Agriculture listed 140!
“No matter how much we protect farms, the epidemic seems out of control,” whispers Éric Dumas, who raises fat ducks in Horsarrieu, in the Landes. Or rather, raised: on Christmas Eve, his buildings are empty. In the spring he had to slaughter his 6,000 ducks affected by the epidemic. With the decimation of the “parent” populations, the resulting shortage of ducklings limited their production.
And a decree forbids it today…