Forty breeders or consumers gathered yesterday, in front of the prefecture, to defend open-air breeding. They do not want the end of the exemptions in times of bird risk.
In the end, the omelet was not giant, and neither was the number of people present… “Like our farms,” said Sylvie Colas, spokesperson for the Confédération paysanne. This Wednesday, around forty people, breeders or consumers, gathered to influence the ongoing debate on the extreme limitation of exemptions granted during periods of bird risk. Currently, these are issued on a case-by-case basis, but only for flocks of less than 3,200 birds. There is talk of lowering this threshold to 250.
Among the breeders present, Jean-Marc Dupré is active in breaking eggs to prepare an omelet, “yellow” eggs, synonymous with the quality of his products, he explains. He breeds organic laying hens in Saint-Clar and has a conditioning center on his farm. “Small ranchers like us transform everything on the farm, there is no movement,” he says. Like Nicolas Petit, from Ferme en Coton, he believes that it is this self-sufficient operation that must justify maintaining the exemptions, with less transport than the long chain and, according to them, less risk.
“Locking up is niet”
Nicolas Petit, who raises 170 chickens per week in Auch, also argues that confinement stresses the animals and therefore makes them more likely to fall ill. “Locking up is niet”, regardless of the surface defined for his animal, he says.
For the spokesperson for the Confédération paysanne, like these breeders, it is “a mode of production” which is “called into question”. “They want to make us wear the hat”, she insists. She argues that the “genetic diversity” of small open-air farms is another bulwark against disease. She protests against “the scandal” represented by the sale to consumers of poultry labeled plein-air but ultimately claustrated.
Penalties
It also gives some elements of the discussions in progress, it which was received with the Modef and the GABB32 in prefecture the same morning. Namely that “penalties” will be provided for in the event of non-compliance with the confinement, per day spent outdoors and per animal. She denounces unequal negotiations in the face of the “industrial” “steamroller”.
André Belvèze, President of Modef, also takes the floor to state another hobbyhorse of these unions: better remuneration for producers, with a price for foie gras that has not changed “since the last century”, due to ‘larger and more industrial production, forcing breeders to “do more and more. “
Sylvie Colas concludes: “The fight will be long, we have troops in reserve and we will call on them! “
CIFOG: “Sheltering ducks is not synonymous with abandoning the outdoors”
In a press release, the interprofessional organization for foie gras, represented by CIFOG, explains “preparing for the way out of the crisis and remembering that sheltering ducks is not synonymous with abandoning the outdoors.” The press release continues: “It is a question of studying precisely the characteristics of this episode to take the appropriate measures as quickly as possible.” Further on, the press release reads: “CIFOG would like to remind you that in times of risk, sheltering all animals to protect them from contamination by wild birds is a temporary necessity and absolutely does not remit involved the practice of outdoor breeding. Thus, access to the course remains a priority, whatever the production model. ”The organization shares an interview with Gilles Salvat, Deputy Director General for Research and References at ANSES, in which the latter elaborates:“ The conditions production during these risky periods must be adapted to allow the total confinement of the animals in the buildings. For animal welfare reasons, this requires reducing the density of animals in buildings and this decrease in density contributes to reducing the risk of the virus spreading in the event of accidental introduction into a farm. ” He adds: “In the future, therefore, it will be necessary to be more rigorous on the absolute respect of the confinement of farmed birds during periods of risk and to reduce the densities of animals and breeding during these same periods to limit the risks. spread in the event of the virus being introduced into a region of high production. “
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