Before each livestock transport, the animals are analyzed to verify that they do not harbor any contagious disease. For a week, suspicions bird flu weighed on a farm of 12,000 ducks in Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine. First placed in quarantine, preliminary tests have shown the possible presence of the H5 virus.
Further testing was carried out and revealed the existence of a low pathogenic variant of the H5N3 strain. The prefecture, in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Directorate of Food (DGAL), has decided that these animals will not be slaughtered. Health officials said the ducks were safe to eat. They can be sent to the department’s force-feeding rooms and marketed.
Limit preventive slaughter
A year ago, nearly 4 million ducks had been euthanized in a logical “Preventive slaughter” in order to stop the spread of a much more dangerous strain of influenza – H5N8 – which, however, was not transmitted to humans. This episode cost 350 million euros to compensate the breeders, who have not yet all been reimbursed.
After that, new biosecurity measures were introduced: sanitary locks on farms, loading carried out on concrete areas and obligation for trucks to be equipped with disinfection books and atomizers. Farmers and feeders are also encouraged to reduce their production period to one year, instead of several years. The preservation of this Lot-et-Garonne breeding therefore reflects a change in strategy on the part of the government.
The production of foie gras and yet in sharp decline. The Interprofessional Committee of Foie Gras Palmipeds (Cifog) announces a decrease of 22% over the year. French production has peaked this year at 11,000 tonnes of foie gras, against 14,000 in 2016, a year which was nevertheless marked by a first H5N1 crisis. Cifog therefore estimates an increase of between 10 to 20% in the price of foie gras, depending on its origin and quality.
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