By SudOuest.fr with AFP
The Minister of Agriculture announced Friday in Mont-de-Marsan the start of a phase of experimentation with two vaccines
Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie said on Friday that there was “no other solution in the long term than to acquire vaccination” to fight against avian flu, announcing the imminent start of a phase of ‘experimentation with “two vaccines, including one from a laboratory in Nouvelle-Aquitaine”.
The issue of vaccination in poultry farms “is essential” while France had on Friday evening 63 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in farms, against 46 the day before, said the minister. This “should not be a taboo subject,” he added to journalists in Mont-de-Marsan, where he met breeders and elected officials, while the number of outbreaks continues to increase in France.
First European country
Denormandie spoke of “a large meeting with industry professionals on January 12 to determine the areas and protocols” for these experiments. “We are the first European country to put (this) in place. It will then be necessary to obtain approval at European level and I will therefore have to convince the other Member States of the value of vaccination, ”he said.
On Thursday, foie gras professionals had deemed it “essential” to vaccinate ducks in the future against avian flu, a virus transmitted by migratory birds and which affects France for the fourth time since 2015, each time generating costs and considerable losses for ranchers and the state.
To date, according to the website of the Ministry of Agriculture, “no vaccine suitable for birds of the Anatidae family (palmipeds) is authorized by the European Commission”. On the other hand, there is one for gallinacea (chickens, turkeys). Of the 63 infected farms, a large half (33 outbreaks) is located in the Landes department alone, where around 155,000 poultry have been slaughtered since the detection of a first outbreak in mid-December.
Renewal of compensation
The previous episode of avian flu, last winter, had resulted in the slaughter of 3.5 million poultry, mainly ducks in the South-West, stronghold of foie gras.
“We are going to renew the compensation mechanisms put in place last year. In the Nord department (where the first seven French outbreaks were detected, from November 26, Editor’s note), they have already been opened. In the Landes, they will be from mid-January ”, assured the Minister.
If Julien Denormandie described the current situation as “very worrying”, he also assured that there were in the Landes “three times fewer cases” than last year at the same time. “We have a reactivity which is beyond measure compared to last year”, he assured, saying he was ready to adapt the current protocols to the evolution of the situation.
On the contrary, the Modef agricultural union denounced short-term measures and mentioned the risk of “seeing these crises repeat each year”.
“While the flows of people and transport have long been listed as major risk factors in the spread of the virus, the State services have not carried out any control at this level and even less on the concentration of animals in certain zones and farms ”, deplores the union, which defends small farmers practicing the outdoors.