Agricultural unions worried about the advance of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), favored, according to them, by climate change (AFP/Archives/FRED TANNEAU)
Worried but not “distraught”, breeders in the south-west of France are asking the State for support in the face of the advance of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EMD), favored by temperatures that are too high for the season due to climate change .
After estimating Monday that the State “deeply underestimated the problem” posed by this disease which does not affect humans, Christian Fourcade, breeder in the Hautes-Pyrénées and vice-president of the chamber of agriculture of this department, the most affected in France, underlined on Saturday “a good development of the public authorities”.
“The administrative machine took a little time” but now “everyone is in the right direction” in the face of this disease mainly affecting cattle, including the number of outbreaks, estimated at 53 on Friday by the Ministry of Agriculture. Agriculture has almost tripled since September 29, Mr. Fourcade told AFP.
Still according to the ministry, as of October 5, France counted MHE outbreaks in the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées (30 outbreaks), Pyrénées-Atlantiques (12 outbreaks), Haute-Garonne (8 outbreaks), Gers (2 outbreaks) and des Landes (1 household).
– Very few dead animals –
No vaccine currently exists for this disease transmitted by biting midges which mainly affects deer and cattle. In the latter, it is fatal in less than 1% of cases, according to experts.
Thus, Mr. Fourcade was aware of “less than ten” dead animals in the Hautes-Pyrénées.
The risk is above all economic for breeders, many of whom can no longer sell their animals because of the transport restrictions put in place.
In accordance with European rules, the French authorities have prohibited the exit of cows, goats and sheep located within a radius of 150 kilometers around a farm infected with the virus, except, within France, in the case of disinfestation and carrying out a negative PCR analysis.
This “restricted zone” now concerns, entirely or partially, around fifteen departments.
– “Climatic upheavals” –
For export, the conditions must “be defined within the framework of bilateral discussions with each country,” the Ministry of Agriculture told AFP.
Welcoming Spain’s authorization to resume imports of young French cattle announced Friday by the ministry, Mr. Fourcade said he hoped for a similar decision from Italy.
A hope shared by the spokesperson for the Gers Peasant Confederation, Sylvie Colas, who hoped that “diplomacy would get underway” to achieve this.
The ministry announced Friday that Spain was once again authorizing these imports and that “negotiations are continuing with France’s other trading partners.”
In 2022, France exported a little more than a million “broutards”, young cattle intended for fattening for meat production, including 858,000 to Italy and 86,000 to Spain, according to official data.
In this context, in addition to emergency aid, the Confédération paysanne and Modef unions are asking the State, in the longer term, to relocalize cattle fattening to depend less on exports.
Maryvonne Lagaronne, breeder in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and vice-president of the department’s chamber of agriculture, also asks the State to “help the profession by supporting the economic losses” of affected breeders.
Referring to an “inevitable advance” of the virus, Ms. Lagaronne also warns against an “escalation of fear”. “It is an emerging disease due to global warming and it will not be the last,” she notes.
Mr. Fourcade also cites the role of “global warming which allows the presence of the midge” carrying MHE at this time of year, a point of view also shared by Ms. Colas.
“We are having climatic and biodiversity upheavals. We are experiencing short days with rising temperatures. We have never seen this. Obviously, we are seeing these midges developing,” underlined Ms. Colas.
© 2023 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends using the buttons below.
