French poultry farmers face new cull to contain bird flu crisis across Europe       

Europe has been facing a grim season, with outbreaks of bird flu in more than two dozen countries since October, risking higher chicken prices and fewer-free range eggs. Picture: Mark Stedman/RollingNews.ie

French poultry farmers face a mass cull of their flocks for a second straight year as a bird flu crisis deepens across Europe.

The government ordered poultry and waterfowl in parts of the south-west – home to France’s famed foie gras industry – to be killed to help stop the spread of the disease. That follows a severe outbreak that claimed about 3.5m poultry, mainly ducks, between autumn 2020 and spring 2021.

Bird flu, whose highly pathogenic varieties can be deadly to poultry, often spreads through migrating birds and cases typically peak in winter. 

Europe has been facing a grim season, with outbreaks in more than two dozen countries since October, risking higher chicken prices and fewer-free range eggs. That may spell more bad news for consumers already seeing near-record food costs.

Many of the cases in France have been on duck farms, including for foie gras. The Aquitaine region is where most birds are raised to produce the luxury food, made from the liver of fattened ducks or geese. 

About 1.5m poultry have already been slaughtered, and an equivalent amount could be culled in the coming days, foie gras industry group Cifog said. 

“This is a new trauma for the poultry industry in the departments concerned, with very serious and painful consequences for producers and companies alike,” Cifog said. 

• Bloomberg