France has detected a bird flu outbreak on a duck farm in the country's southwest region, the second outbreak since last year's epidemic. Reuters shared in a report that the farm ministry has marked the return of the disease to the foie gras production area where flocks of ducks and geese were culled last winter.
The French Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday, December 19, that the bird flu outbreak had been reported in 61 sites since January 1, 2021, in which 48 of those were in Landes, the region that produces foie gras. This number is also 40 more compared to the 21 outbreaks last December.
Agriculture Ministry Decides to Cull the Ducks
A bird flu outbreak was reported last year in France that led authorities to cull over 3 million ducks and geese, Phys.org reported. This year, local authorities have established a 1.8-mile (3-kilometer) protection zone and another 6.2-mile (10-kilometer) surveillance zone around the area where the outbreak was detected.
Health authorities have asked organic and open-air poultry raisers to continue health measures they employ in raising their fowl to avoid contact with migratory birds that may carry the avian virus that caused the current bird flu outbreak in the country.
Marie-Helene Cazaubon, head of the Landes chamber of agriculture and a duck farmer, said that the country is in a migratory corridor where birds from northern Europe fly. This means the country must be very vigilant.
As of now, a statement in the Official Gazette on Sunday has ordered the preventive slaughter of birds or ducks around the affected area. Cazaubon said in an interview on Saturday, a day after the bird flu outbreak was identified, clinical signs left no doubt, and so they decided to cull around 2.5 million ducks and geese.
Bird Flu Spreading Across Europe and Asia
Reuters reported last month that avian influenza has already spread across Europe and Asia, a sign that the avian flu is spreading quickly. Authorities have recently recorded eight bird flu outbreaks in France, especially in duck farms where the seven outbreaks in the north were reported.
The French Ministry of Livestock confirmed in a statement that the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was discovered on a farm that breeds ducks for foie gras, a specialty of liver pate that is eaten during this season, according to Voi. Cazaubon said that most ducks and geese have already been slaughtered for their fatty liver to make into the popular delicacy during the holiday season.
The tradition dates back from many years ago in France. However, technological advances in rearing the ducks have been controversial because the birds are force-fed to fatten their liver artificially. Around one-fourth of the French foie gras in France comes from the Landes, which has 800 farms that raised ducks.
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