In his Bellefonds farm, near Bonneuil-Matours in Vienne, Jules Courbon, watch his guinea fowl frolic in the open air. Here, on nearly 4 hectares, 10,000 poultry leave each year. Ducks, chickens and therefore guinea fowl. Poultry which should remain permanently cloistered in the huts which serve as their shelter at night, following the government decision this Friday to confine all free-range poultry, because of a “high” risk of avian influenza, following numerous outbreaks of contamination, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands.
But for this breeder who took over this farm which sells direct eight months ago, this confinement is quite simply impossible, due to the small size of these huts. “Three meters by four meters wide, two meters high … they can’t spend their day in there”, specifies Jules Courbon, who also speaks of the stress that his animals would undergo.
– Florent Vautier
For him, confining poultry in too small a space would increase the likelihood of them contracting diseases other than avian flu.
In a press release, the Confédération Paysanne speaks of a Minister of Agriculture who “declares war on peasant breeding”. For Jean-Paul Gobin, former spokesperson for the movement in Deux-Sèvres, “we ask neither more nor less to deny everything that makes up our profession”. “It’s revolting”, adds this breeder from Neuvy-Bouin. “As long as I am in organic farming, the poultry will come out.”
A request for exemptions
These “small” farms thus request exemptions, as during the previous confinement of poultry in 2020. Failure to comply with containment results in non-payment of compensation if a farm is contaminated by bird flu.