France has now also imposed a general confinement order for poultry due to the increasing bird flu cases. Authorities have ordered all outdoor poultry farms to keep their animals indoors.
Farmers have been advised to install nets this winter and keep their poultry inside to avoid possible contact with infected migratory birds.
The bird flu risk level in rural France was raised to “high” on Friday due to the growing number of confirmed infections. France had already increased the alert level to “moderate” in September after a severe form of the virus was discovered in the Ardennes.
Under the new restrictions, poultry exhibitions and competitive racing pigeon flights are banned until March, while birds in zoos must also be kept indoors or vaccinated.
“Since early August, 130 cases or outbreaks of avian influenza have been detected in wild birds or on farms across Europe,” according to a statement from the French Ministry of Agriculture. Poultry farmers in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands have all reported outbreaks in recent weeks. Dutch commercial farms were instructed last week to keep all poultry indoors, while tens of thousands of animals were culled in Flevoland and elsewhere.
Additionally, southwestern France is still recovering from an earlier flu outbreak in which more than 3.5 million birds were culled last winter. The French government hopes that increased measures this winter will prevent a similarly massive outbreak. Currently, the government allows poultry older than ten weeks to be kept in coops or small enclosures.
However, the confinement order is often resisted by French poultry farmers, as the Christmas sales of turkeys and foie gras approach. In a joint statement, the unions Confédération Paysanne and Modef said the French government ‘had declared war on many farmers.’
“The Minister of Agriculture chooses to sacrifice the free-range sector in hopes of keeping the industrial sector exporting for as long as possible,” they said. So far, commercial farms in France remain “free” of bird flu, meaning export sales have not been affected.