The sudden outbreak of contamination of farms with avian flu in the Great West, mainly in Vendée, requires the slaughter of millions of poultry to "clean up the area", the Ministry of Agriculture told the press on Friday.

Currently, “we have eliminated around 1.2 million animals and it is estimated that we still have three million animals that remain to be slaughtered” in the Great West.

An even bigger crisis this year

The extent of this crisis already exceeds that of last year, especially confined to the Southwest.

Nearly 500 outbreaks had been identified in farms and 3.5 million poultry, mainly ducks, slaughtered.

This year, 611 outbreaks in farms were recorded on March 10, according to the ministry.

More than 4 million poultry had been slaughtered even before the contaminations multiplied since the end of February in the Great West, triggering a new campaign of massive slaughter.

“The means of disposal but also of storage awaiting disposal (…) are gradually being increased to meet the needs”, informed the office of the Minister of Agriculture.

The critical situation in Vendée

The situation is especially critical in Vendée where the number of households has jumped in a few days: from 74 on Sunday, to 187 at the last report.

The area has many poultry farms, some of which are considered “strategic” because they produce animals used for breeding.

There are also hatcheries, “really key for the resumption of activity in a few weeks when we have cleaned up the area”, notes the ministry.

A hatchery has already been contaminated, "all the others are protected and the objective is to create a buffer zone all around the hatcheries to preserve our productive capacities for the future", continues this source.

Society

Maine-et-Loire: New outbreak of avian flu detected, 850 ducks slaughtered

Planet

Avian flu: More than 4 million poultry slaughtered, according to the Ministry of Agriculture

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  • Avian Flu

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