PARIS: France on Monday started Europe’s solely vaccination marketing campaign in opposition to fowl flu in geese, hoping to keep away from mass culls of thousands and thousands of birds which have dearly price the business in recent times.
“There’s excessive stress from the virus, however vaccination ought to imply we solely face particular person circumstances, avoiding the tidal wave sweeping by means of farms,” mentioned Jocelyn Marguerie, poultry chief on the SNGTV farm vets’ affiliation.
The 2-jab course for ducklings beginning at 10 days previous is compulsory in farms elevating greater than 250 birds from October.
Producing livers for foie gras or meat, France’s duck sector is particularly delicate to the virus.
The birds shed it earlier than signs ever seem, permitting it to unfold unchecked.
France’s poultry inhabitants noticed a wave of fowl flu in 2015-17 and has suffered virtually fixed outbreaks since 2020 though there are at the moment no illness hotspots.
Discovery of a case means culling for the entire farm and others close by, disrupting manufacturing for the long run and bringing a heavy monetary toll for farmers.
“I have been caught up in 4 culls since 2016. I hope we’ll get again to being unscathed. (Vaccination) has to work!” mentioned Thierry Dezes, who raises geese within the southwestern Landes area and plans to jab some 5,000 ducklings.
Vets count on a complete of round 60 million geese ought to be vaccinated by summer time subsequent yr.
France’s first 24 million doses will come from pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim, which means the federal government should invite tenders for extra provide.
However the marketing campaign is just not going uncontested.
One farmer within the Landes area instructed AFP that she had clients “calling to inform me they do not need meat from vaccinated geese” asking to stay nameless to guard her enterprise.
And on export markets, the worry is that immunisation might masks fowl flu circulating unnoticed within the duck inhabitants.
A senior official at Japan’s ministry of agriculture instructed AFP that Tokyo would droop imports of French poultry merchandise after the vaccination marketing campaign had began.
“There’s excessive stress from the virus, however vaccination ought to imply we solely face particular person circumstances, avoiding the tidal wave sweeping by means of farms,” mentioned Jocelyn Marguerie, poultry chief on the SNGTV farm vets’ affiliation.
The 2-jab course for ducklings beginning at 10 days previous is compulsory in farms elevating greater than 250 birds from October.
Producing livers for foie gras or meat, France’s duck sector is particularly delicate to the virus.
The birds shed it earlier than signs ever seem, permitting it to unfold unchecked.
France’s poultry inhabitants noticed a wave of fowl flu in 2015-17 and has suffered virtually fixed outbreaks since 2020 though there are at the moment no illness hotspots.
Discovery of a case means culling for the entire farm and others close by, disrupting manufacturing for the long run and bringing a heavy monetary toll for farmers.
“I have been caught up in 4 culls since 2016. I hope we’ll get again to being unscathed. (Vaccination) has to work!” mentioned Thierry Dezes, who raises geese within the southwestern Landes area and plans to jab some 5,000 ducklings.
Vets count on a complete of round 60 million geese ought to be vaccinated by summer time subsequent yr.
France’s first 24 million doses will come from pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim, which means the federal government should invite tenders for extra provide.
However the marketing campaign is just not going uncontested.
One farmer within the Landes area instructed AFP that she had clients “calling to inform me they do not need meat from vaccinated geese” asking to stay nameless to guard her enterprise.
And on export markets, the worry is that immunisation might masks fowl flu circulating unnoticed within the duck inhabitants.
A senior official at Japan’s ministry of agriculture instructed AFP that Tokyo would droop imports of French poultry merchandise after the vaccination marketing campaign had began.
