Poultry Farming Frozen for Eradication of Bird Flu in Southwestern France

In an effort to eradicate bird flu, France's agriculture ministry has ordered poultry farmers in southwestern France to freeze production of geese and ducks at least until late May 2016.

The highly virulent H5N1 strain of the virus was identified at a chicken farm in Dordogne in November 2015, prompting several countries including Japan and China to ban French poultry imports.

Avian Influenza / Bird Flu-Causes-Symptoms-Treatment- FAQs
Bird flu (avian influenza/avian flu) is a disease caused by an influenza virus (H5N1) that primarily affects birds but can infect humans also.

‘Since the H5N1 has been detected on 69 farms in southwestern France, the agriculture ministry has ordered poultry farmers to freeze production of geese and ducks until late May 2016.’

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In late November 2015, Japan also stopped importing French foie gras, a luxury food prized for festive celebrations but controversial because its production requires force-feeding the birds.

Since then H5N1 has been detected on 69 farms in southwestern France, where the bulk of French foie gras is produced.

The agriculture ministry's order allows farmers to continue raising the birds they have, but they may not take on new chicks until after a cleanup that is to begin on Monday, January 18, 2016, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

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The process of specially fattening geese and ducks to produce foie gras (fatty liver) takes 12 to 15 weeks.

After the current stock is treated, the farmers must freeze their production while their farms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, the statement said.

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Production could resume in May or June 2016, but the timeline is still being hammered out, it said.

That will be in time for the poultry farmers to be able to produce foie gras for the next festive season, the statement said.

Japan Bans Import of French Foie Gras Due to the Bird Flu Outbreak
Japan has banned imports of poultry and French foie gras due to a bird flu outbreak, revealed an agriculture ministry official.

Japan's foie gras ban, which became effective on November 26, 2015, will be lifted 90 days after all affected French poultry farms finish culling their birds and conclude necessary sanitary procedures, according to the Japanese agriculture ministry.

For the first eight months of 2015 Japan was the top global importer of foie gras, according to a French industry group.

France, which produces 75% of global foie gras, exported 4,934 tonnes of it in 2014.

Source-AFP