Mass slaughter of ducks expected against bird flu
Bird flu: 'Hundreds of thousands' of ducks will still be slaughtered, predicts Denormandie
Since December, "almost 400,000 ducks have been slaughtered in the Department of Landes," the minister of agriculture said on France Bleu Gascogne. Before clarifying that it was not over yet
"Hundreds of thousands" of ducks will still be slaughtered, after the extension of the slaughters announced thursday by the government, predicted Friday the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie,citing the need to "accelerate in the race against time" against a "highly pathogenic" virus of avian influenza.
Since December, "almost 400,000 ducks have been slaughtered in the department of Landes (...) it's still going to be hundreds of thousands, that's a certainty," said the minister on France Bleu Gascogne,a few hours before a visit to affected breeders in this department which is the leading producer of fatty palmipedes.
"The goal is to make a massive depopulation to contain the epidemic"
The minister acknowledged that he "cannot say" how many ducks will remain, out of the approximately 5 million currently being farmed in the department. "My goal is to keep as many as possible (...) The aim is to make a massive depopulation to contain the epidemic."
Hundreds of thousands of ducks slaughtered is already "colossal, but unfortunately it's not enough yet," Denormandie said. "Force is to note that we have not gone fast enough," he acknowledged justifying the measures announced on Thursday, such as the extension of preventive slaughter, creating "a sanitary vacuum around households that will go from 3 km to 5 km, it is extremely drastic", as well as "buffer zones" or is prohibited from entering or leaving poultry.
To go faster, we need to increase slaughter capacity
"To move faster, we need to increase slaughter capacity and that is what we have put in place today, including requisitions of slaughterhouses, the creation of ad hoc technical platforms that we are creating for the occasion, with large slaughter capacities," he continued.
But, the minister warned, "it's not a snapping of a duck farm, it's a health protocol, it's making sure that in the transfer of ducks there is no possible transfer of the virus, it's a protocol when poultry are euthanized."
In terms of compensation for breeders, Julien Denormandie assured that "as of next week the first instalments will already be paid". This will be compensation "regarding the market value of ducks, not above-ground compensation with coefficients. It's very important."
Source:- Flash News and News Agencies
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