A new suspected case of avian flu in the North of Vendée has been reported by the prefecture of the department. In total, 5 French departments are affected.
And five. After Pas-de-Calais, Tarn, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers and Hautes-Pyrénées, it is the turn of Vendée to be affected by bird flu. The prefecture indeed indicated in a press release published on Saturday, December 3 that 3,000 chickens from a farm in the town of La Garnache had been found dead. Suspicious deaths which led the authorities to kill 3,000 other animals as a preventive measure.
Since the end of November, the virus responsible for highly pathogenic avian influenza, H5N8, has been detected in French farms. Over the past two weeks, several outbreaks have been identified in several of our European neighbors, due to the passage of contaminated migratory birds, as well as in Japan.
As provided for in health regulations, the systematic slaughter of animals is accompanied by the establishment of a 10 km security perimeter around the farms concerned. In Vendée and Loire-Atlantique, more than 150 municipalities are affected by this perimeter and must confine their poultry.
Exports outside the EU prohibited
Fatal to animals, the H5N8 virus is harmless to humans. And although this epizootic has nothing to do with that of last year (nearly 80 outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in 8 departments had been reported), the discovery of these new outbreaks postpones the resumption of exports by 3 months. of the European Union.
A new blow for the palmiped industry, and in particular that of foie gras, already massively impacted by the crawl imposed by the ministry. Last year, the shutdown of production resulted in a loss of around 300 million euros. The state then released 290 million euros, including 130 million for goose and duck breeders affected by the epizootic last winter.
But the sector remains optimistic and ensures that there will be plenty of foie gras on the tables for the holidays. To have it you will still have to count a small increase of 40 cents per 50 grams, due to a smaller supply, underlines the inter-professional committee of the foie gras sector.
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