There was a first report in November, then an acceleration in January. In the Landes, the country of foie gras, the epizootic – an epidemic striking animals – of bird flu has left a great void with millions of slaughtered poultry. France is not the only country affected in Europe, the epidemic also hits Italy, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. The authorities count nearly 230 outbreaks of infection, in the Gers, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, but mainly in the south of the Landes, with 170 farms affected.
Since January 9, 12,000 ducks have been slaughtered at Jean-Pierre Dubroca, 57, breeder in Buanes, 25 km south of Mont-de-Marsan.“We do not enter the export zone to avoid the spread of the virus, explains the breeder. This is the advice we give to everyone so we have to lead by example.” We must therefore remain behind the barriers. For Jean-Pierre Dubroca, history repeats itself: “We had already been impacted in 2016 and 2017” and in 2021 too. “It’s a feeling of helplessness first”, he sighs.
On this farm all precautions are obviously taken: electric fences, hygiene, disinfection, a shed has even been built to shelter the ducks during periods of risk. A heavy investment for the farmer: “300,000 euros, which I still pay for ten years!”
“We must say things as they are: the State has assumed its responsibilities in terms of economic compensation for influenza [le virus de la grippe] of 2021. So of course, it’s too long, it takes too long.”
Jean-Pierre Dubroca, duck breederat franceinfo
Normally, the breeder should be compensated again, “but we prefer to live from our profession rather than living on state compensation to compensate for a virus that we cannot control“.
Hervé Dupouy, duck breeder, fattener of ducks ready to force-feed, and representative of the FDSEA Landes waterfowl section, also lost everything. All the animals on his farm have been euthanized.
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For him, the vaccination of poultry and ducks could be a solution. “We’ve been talking about it since 2017, says Hervé Dupouy. Today, all European countries are affected. So we have this alignment of the planets.”
“The European Union is chaired by France, so we hope that our Minister of Agriculture will bring this to European level so that vaccination is accepted.”
Hervé Dupouy, FDSEA representative of Landesat franceinfo
The vaccine is still being tested, but according to the Minister of Agriculture, Julien Denormandie, there is no other solution in the long term to fight against avian flu. Because the only way out at the moment is the slaughter of 3.5 million poultry in 2021 and at least 2.5 million in 2022.