A bird flu outbreak “highly pathogenic” was detected in a duck farm in the Landes, we learned this Wednesday, May 10 from the prefecture, after the appearance of 11 other outbreaks in the Gers, raising fears of a resumption of the epizootic.
This new case, detected in Bordères-et-Lamensans, about twenty kilometers south-east of Mont-de-Marsan, led the prefect of Landes to adopt health measures in a regulated perimeter of around sixty municipalities.
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In a press release, the prefecture also announced the slaughter of the 8,600 ducks present in the farm concerned.
First cases in breeding since March 14
After several months of calm, this case of avian influenza occurs after the detection of eleven other outbreaks last week in the neighboring department of Gers, said the Ministry of Agriculture, according to which these outbreaks “relates almost exclusively to ducks”.
These are the first cases in breeding since March 14, when a lull of a month and a half had pushed France to downgrade from” pupil “ To ” moderate “ the level of risk of bird flu at the end of April.
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In the Gers, a regulated perimeter has also been set up around the homes concerned. “The farms located within 3 km of these outbreaks have been depopulated”said the chamber of agriculture of this department, bordering the Landes.
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A new “explosive episode of avian flu”
Beyond the usual measures (slaughter, regulated areas with prohibition of movements), “reinforced management measures aimed at reducing the risk of spreading the virus are currently the subject of discussions between professionals and the State”added the Ministry of Agriculture.
For the Confédération paysanne and the Modef (Movement for the defense of family farmers), this is ” again “ of one “explosive episode of avian flu”. These two farmers’ unions, defenders of an open-air farming model, criticize in a press release the “errors” of the Ministry, such as the confinement of poultry in the areas concerned and the preventive slaughter of thousands of animals.
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Between November 2022 and April 2023, France had been placed in level ” pupil “ risk of bird flu, before a sharp slowdown in the number of outbreaks in the spring. Between mid-March and the end of April, no outbreak had been identified in French farms. Since the start of the epizootic last fall, 6 million poultry have been slaughtered in France, after the slaughter of 22 million poultry in 2021-2022.
