Free-range poultry will have to be restricted to the main producing regions of Brittany and Pays de la Loire to combat the spread of bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry announced on Wednesday.
In these regions, as well as in the Deux-Sèvres department, “refuge is mandatory and regular tests are carried out on the breeding and before any movement,” the ministry said in a press release.
The risk of contamination increases in autumn
At the national level, breeders already had to house their birds from the end of September in areas located in the migratory corridors of wild birds.
After a catastrophic 2021-2022 season (more than 21 million birds slaughtered between the end of November and mid-May), the virus struck French farms again at the end of July, exceptionally early.
However, the risk of contamination increases in autumn, thanks to lower temperatures and the migration of wild birds to the south. According to an official count started on August 1, 25 farms were affected in 12 departments, including 17 in the Brittany and Pays de la Loire regions.
The ministry said last week that more than 300,000 poultry had already had to be culled.
Source: BFM TV
