Charles Guyard / Photo credit: FELIX ALAIN / HEMIS.FR / HEMIS.FR / HEMIS VIA AFP 6:23 a.m., March 24, 2024

The agricultural sector is really not spared. In France, there are fewer and fewer veterinarians specializing in agricultural settings, which has consequences on farms. Like in Brittany, where breeders no longer know how to vaccinate their herds.

Medical deserts also affect animals. In France, veterinarians specializing in agricultural settings are becoming fewer and fewer in number and in certain regions, such as Brittany, where breeders no longer know how to vaccinate their herds. Too many constraints and less profitability compared to dog practice in particular... As a result, some breeders find themselves without caregivers for their animals and that poses real problems. Example in Finistère.

Watch out for illnesses

“If your call concerns a bovine, please dial 2.” Sten Le Gall hears this welcome message every day. And this cow breeder may be patient, since the departure of his veterinarian last October, his requests for replacements remain in vain. However, there is an emergency. "We have the obligation to take annual blood tests on the herds. The next one is in April. If I don't have this blood test, I can no longer sell animals! And, the problem, This means that if tomorrow I have an emergency involving an animal, I have no solution to treat it. I had a calf that needed to be rehydrated, but I was unable to save it. I went around to veterinarians within 50 kilometers around and everyone refused to take charge of my farm,” he laments at the microphone of Europe 1.

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And for good reason: rural practitioners are already overloaded because their number continues to fall, with a drop of 30% in three years in Finistère. A situation which worries Philippe Henaff, president of the Order of Veterinarians of Brittany. “In the context of public health, if the veterinary network continues to weaken, it will become catastrophic. It will be an open door to the appearance of diseases. This can be very annoying,” he warns. France today has 21,000 veterinarians, but only 6,500 in rural areas.