On November 5, the French government communiqué raised the threat level of avian influenza in 46 departments. Breeders are required to take precautionary measures, such as confinement, to avoid contact between poultry and migratory birds. The departments of Charente-Maritime and des Deux-Sèvres are the priority areas, followed by the southwestern departments of les Landes and le Gers. Christmas is the season when poultry farmers provide game and foie gras in large quantities. Breeders do not want the holiday season to affect their business. The French media have advised people to never cook poultry uncooked, and eggs should be well cooked.
The “high” risk level means that both professional breeders and individuals who own chicken farms must lock up poultry and set nets to prevent contact with wild birds.
The government communiqué says, “Urgent and immediate precautionary measures are necessary to protect French poultry farms from the potential transmission of wild bird influenza viruses, especially in areas at particular risk or danger.” France is a major “crossroads” for migratory bird routes in Western Europe, and if avian influenza were to appear in France, the likelihood of this animal disease entering the United Kingdom would be greatly increased. In addition, the French Mediterranean island of Camargue is an important “transit point” for migratory birds.
Two outbreaks of avian influenza have occurred in duck farms in southwestern France in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017; the epidemic eradication of avian influenza has led to mass culling to eradicate the disease and hundreds of millions of euros in losses for breeders.
Christmas is approaching. Eric Cachan of SYNALAF, the French National Poultry Labelling Federation, expressed his concern. He told the media that precautionary measures are necessary, but a special permit is needed for more than 6,000 game farms. He said that the popular pineapples for Christmas dinner, les pintades, turkey dindes de Noël and chapon, all need to be raised outdoors.
Following an order from the Ministry of Agriculture, hunters are forbidden to transport or release birds of prey; it is forbidden to sell live birds in the market. Mrs. Mme PE, head of the Federation of Foie Gras Breeders, told AFP that after two crises, we have strengthened our precautions. At the same time, we have asked breeders to monitor closely and notify veterinarians immediately if there is an abnormal mortality rate,” she said.
Following outbreaks in Russia and Kazakhstan this summer, the epidemic has moved westward and recently reached the Netherlands, the French Ministry of Agriculture said. “Since then, there have been 13 outbreaks of wildlife infections in the Netherlands; one outbreak in broiler chickens in the Netherlands; and 13 outbreaks of infected poultry in Germany,” it said. On Nov. 3, the United Kingdom also announced its first outbreak in northwest England.
The French Food Safety Agency (Anses) describes the virus as “very rapidly spreading in birds and causing high mortality” on its website. “Transmission from bird to bird can be direct through close human-to-human contact.
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