Posted
After several European countries, cases of avian flu have been detected in France. Farmers fear further losses after a difficult 2020.
Bird flu is back. On farms, poultry must be confined. But the measure is considered impossible to apply by some breeders. “We cannot leave our poultry locked up”, suggests Max Cormareche, poultry breeder in Ain. “They’re going to fight and get scratched. Chickens, if there’s a drop of blood, they’ll kill each other.”
In recent weeks, cases of bird flu have been detected in farms in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. In France, the virus has been identified in individuals in three backyards in the Aisne and Ardennes. A few isolated cases, but this is enough to worry the breeders. Some people fear having to raise ducks in sheds, resulting in a loss of quality. Last winter, due to the virus, 3.5 million poultry were slaughtered mainly in the southwest.