The level of risk of avian flu will once again be lowered in France, from ” moderate “ To “negligible” from Wednesday, according to a decree published on Tuesday July 11. This refers in particular “lack of seasonal migration” wild birds, as well as “the stabilization of the epidemiological situation in the wild birds of neighboring countries”.
France was at risk level ” pupil “ from November 2022 before dropping back to ” moderate “ in April. Reinforced biosecurity measures, and in particular the confinement of poultry, were therefore already only mandatory in the areas most at risk.
Ten million poultry slaughtered in 2022-2023
The bird flu epizootic, which is also raging in America, Europe and Asia, has led to the euthanasia of tens of millions of poultry in France in recent years. In 2021-2022, it caused the slaughter of 22 million poultry. France has observed an endemization of the virus among local wildlife, whereas it previously arrived mainly through migratory birds. During the 2022-23 season, some ten million poultry were slaughtered, according to a report from the Ministry of Agriculture published at the end of June.
Avian flu has not completely disappeared from France, however: some 17,500 turkeys were slaughtered in early July after an outbreak was declared on a farm in Airon-Notre-Dame (Pas-de-Calais). In the hope of finally bringing the virus under control, France plans to vaccinate farmed ducks from October.