Early bird flu outbreak devastates French poultry population

More than 300,000 poultry have been slaughtered in French farms since 1 August to contain an exceptionally early resurgence of bird flu.

Ducks sit in a cage waiting to be sent to a slaughterhouse for extermination due to an avian flu outbreak in France. AFP - GAIZKA IROZ

AFP cited figures from the Ministry of Agriculture showing 332,753 birds had been euthanised in 20 contaminated farms.

The virus, which usually disappears in the summer as temperatures rise, has continued to circulate in wildlife this year after a disastrous 2021-2022 season, when a record 21 million birds were culled.

While farms on the Channel coast reported cases from the end of July, the official count of avian influenza outbreaks for the 2022-2023 season began in August.

• France set for new mass cull of ducks in third bird flu epidemic in five years
• France bans glue-trapping of songbirds after five-year court case

Since then most confirmed cases have been in the north-west, including the Loire Valley and Brittany – previously spared bird flu outbreaks – and Normandy. 

The virus has hit breeding ducks – needed for the renewal of farms – egg-laying hens, turkeys and foie gras farms. One case was also found on a private duck farm in Gironde, in the south-west.

After Germany, France has reported the second highest number of outbreaks in Europe.

Open-air poultry farming is prohibited in high-risk areas to avoid contact with migratory birds carrying the virus.