Lowering the risk of avian flu: a "relief" for the poultry sector, testifies Sylvie Colas, of the Confédération paysanne
The level of risk for avian flu, described as “moderate” since mid-March, has been lowered to “negligible” in France, according to a decree published on Sunday April 28 in the Official Journal. “That’s very good news”reacts on franceinfo Sylvie Colas, poultry breeder in Gers and responsible for avian flu at the Confédération paysanne.
“This is a relief for areas at risk of spread or specific risk areas which will be less constrained in relation to a certain number of analyses, samples and removal of animals”she explains.
Since last fall and for the first time, ducks have been vaccinated against avian flu in France. “The choice was made to only vaccinate the duck sector but, apparently, it was the right choice since it protected all other chicken, egg and guinea fowl production, since all sectors were often affected “underlines Sylvie Colas.
She specifies that the drop in contamination is also due to “work of prevention, information, training which paid off”. “Everyone understood that there was the question of vaccination, but that we also had to lower breeding densities, pay attention to modes of transport and work on the question of the origin of chicks and ducklings. , therefore to have perfect health traceability of the entire sector.”
She emphasizes “the sword of Damocles” which is hanging over the heads of breeders because of bird flu. “They want to regain confidence and be able to work peacefully since all the ‘constraints’ have been a lot of work on the part of all the producers. This also contributed to the anger of the farmers that we saw at the start of the year because there were a lot of difficulties, a lot of costs linked to analyzes, a lot of constraints linked to vaccination”she recalls.
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