Since the first case of avian flu in breeding at the end of November, "approximately 600,000 to 650,000" poultry have been slaughtered, because they were infected or preventively, according to provisional figures from the Ministry of Agriculture communicated to AFP on Friday.

In a report stopped on December 29, the ministry identified 26 outbreaks in farms, mainly in the South-West, 15 cases in wildlife and 3 cases in backyard.

For the fourth time since 2015, France - like many European countries - has not escaped this winter from highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as avian flu, carried by migrating birds.

The health crises caused by this virus generate considerable costs for professionals and for the State (compensation for slaughtered animals and the resulting economic losses), as well as export losses.

Last year, the epizootic was the cause of nearly 500 breeding outbreaks, most of them in the South-West.

About 3.5 million poultry, mostly ducks, had been slaughtered.

This time, the virus was identified for the first time on November 26 in the North, in the town of Warhem where 160,000 laying hens were reared in buildings.

Bird flu has already led to the slaughter of around 600,000 poultry in one month in France GAIZKA IROZ AFP / Archives

It has since affected other farms in the North and reached the South-West.

- New restrictions in the South West -

Since the first case in the South-West recorded in a duck farm in the Gers on December 16, "22 new outbreaks have been identified in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the Gers and the Landes," the ministry reported in a press release Thursday evening.

"The affected farms were depopulated each time, then disinfected," he added.

Like last year, the Landes department - where the most recent outbreaks were detected - is the focus of concerns.

According to the ministry, additional restrictions on the transport of poultry will intervene to limit the contagion "in a larger perimeter than that of the current regulated zones", in a radius "up to 20 km around the hearths".

In the Landes, a prefectural decree published on Friday afternoon revealed the names of 58 municipalities concerned.

Within this perimeter, breeders will not be able to welcome new chicks or ducklings "until January 7", in order to reduce the density of animals present simultaneously in these sectors.

Likewise, poultry must "remain on the farms of destination for at least 21 days".

"These measures may be extended, in view of the evolution of the health situation," warns the ministry.

He adds that "an economic support system will support hatcheries" which are losing outlets "and breeders who will have to maintain a crawl space in their farms".

"The State says it will support breeders who are penalized, it is already very comforting", reacts to AFP Marie-Pierre Pé, director of the interprofession of foie gras Cifog.

If the blocking of the movements of poultry makes it possible to "definitively extinguish this departure of fire from the Landes, it must be done", she continues.

The virus "is present in the Landes but we are not in the same configuration as that of last year, with an explosion of cases," said the president of the Landes chamber of agriculture, Marie-Hélène Cazaubon.

"Today there is vigilance and collective responsibility on the part of producers as well as a very rapid response from the veterinary services and the State, all of which are much more responsive this year", adds this breeder.

Other breeders are more "skeptical" about the new restriction zones: "In a few days, we will all be affected, there is no reason for it to stop. So 20 km ...", sighs Laurent Tollis, breeder-feeder in Montfort-en-Chalosse, pointing the finger at the responsibility of "large industrial farms".

In the Gers, the prefecture considered at the beginning of the week that the situation was "stabilized".

About 70,000 palmipeds were slaughtered there in a dozen farms and the situation is "under control", according to the Gers chamber of agriculture.

In the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a new decree also published on Friday authorizes by derogation "the movements of poultry for immediate slaughter", subject to reinforced security measures.

© 2021 AFP