France has culled 16 million poultry since the start of the current bird flu epidemic, a record number of slaughters on its territory, authorities said on Monday.
The peak of the epidemic was left behind at the end of March and the epizootic is slowing down,” explained the Ministry of Agriculture.
Since the first case detected in northern France at the end of November, the virus spread to 1,364 farmsmore than half in the west of the country, where the authorities carried out mass sacrifices, even of healthy animals in a preventive way.
The crises linked to avian flu tend to be concentrated in the south-west of France, especially in the farms of ducks destined for the production of foie gras. In 2021, almost 500 outbreaks were recorded and 3.5 million animals, mostly ducks, were culled.
Avian influenza, which is spread by migratory animals from Asia, is seasonal: it normally begins in October in Europe and lasts until April.
For the first time, wild birds have contaminated farms on their way back from southern countries, prompting a second wave that is coming to an end.
These crises generate significant costs for breeders, due to the cessation of production and the closure of export markets, and for the State, which pays compensation for slaughtered animals and associated losses.