France has taken the bold step of initiating a vaccination campaign against bird flu, officially known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, aiming to protect its poultry industry and stem the devastating impact of the virus that has swept through flocks worldwide. However, this decision has raised concerns and led to trade restrictions imposed by the United States on French poultry imports.
The global spread of bird flu has taken a heavy toll on France, severely affecting its poultry production and driving up prices for poultry meat and eggs across the globe. With millions of birds succumbing to the virus, there is also a growing fear that it could potentially mutate into a strain transmissible to humans.
In response to these dire circumstances, the French government launched a nationwide vaccination campaign, making it the first poultry-exporting nation to take this proactive approach. The vaccination program began on October 2 morning with the first shots administered to ducks on a farm in the Landes region of southwestern France. French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau was present to oversee the initial vaccinations.
Over the course of a year, a staggering 64 mn ducks will need to be vaccinated, incurring a total cost of €96mn ($102mn). The state will contribute 85% of the financing for this ambitious vaccination effort, according to industry representatives.
The French duck and foie gras producers' group, CIFOG, expressed their support for the initiative, emphasizing the significance of this campaign. In a statement, they declared;
"This vaccination plan... is a world first: its goal is to protect all farmed birds and should put an end to the preventive slaughter of animals, which no one wants to live with anymore."
Vaccination has increasingly been considered as a viable strategy to contain the highly contagious bird flu virus. However, trade barriers stemming from vaccination measures have caused concern among major poultry-exporting nations, making them hesitant to implement such programs.
In response to France's vaccination campaign, the United States initiated restrictions on imports of French poultry, effective from October 1. The decision to impose these restrictions was made due to the perceived risk of introducing the virus into the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) explained that vaccinated birds may not exhibit symptoms of infection, making it challenging to ascertain whether the virus is present in a flock.
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