More than eight million birds have been culled in the department of Vendée alone (France) as an unprecedented strain of avian flu 'massacres' in the western region.
The French minister for agriculture is set to spend millions to help struggling poultry farmers in France as bird flu rips through the country, with more than eight million birds killed in Vendée alone.
The current flu outbreak is unprecedented, with figures from the Ministry of Agriculture showing that 554 farms out of 1,028 in the western department have been affected.More than 8.2 million birds in the department have been killed, including ducks, chickens, hens, and turkeys.
Minister for Agriculture Julien Denormandie, who visited Vendée (Pays de la Loire) last week, has pledged to help the sector with compensation and said that "more than €2million (More than 2.2 million dollars) has already been spent, and this is just the start" of the package to "help support and compensate farmers."
The virus is spread mainly by migrating birds. It appeared in Vendée on February 26, after strong winds hit the area.
Joël Limouzin, a farmer from the Vendée region and vice-president of the Pays de la Loire Chamber of Agriculture, said:
"Despite all the biosecurity efforts we have put in place, this very virulent strain has managed to spread by airborne means in the farm buildings, probably through the ventilation fans."
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Thierry Lumineau, a farmer
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