Despite radical measures by the French government, the most deadly form of bird flu, High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza, or HPAI, has continued to tear through poultry units in the country’s northwest. The latest figures show that there have been 256 proven positive cases in the country since August this year. This puts the country on track for a new record worst ever bird flu season. Particularly worrying for the UK shooting community is the continuing heavy concentration of cases in gamebird rearing areas. France’s largest gamebird producer, L’envol de Retz, is based in Loire Atlantique, a department which has had 12 cases. This alone would be cause for concern. However, even more worrying is the situation of Gibovendée, another large supplier based near Chambretaud in Vendée. This area has had nearly half of all of France’s cases of the disease and is under the most severe restrictions as vets and civil servants struggle to stifle the outbreak. An outbreak, which took hold
The supply of game birds from France to the UK was heavily disrupted in the spring due to import restrictions and lack of supply arising from an exceptionally severe outbreak of bird flu in northern France. Game bird production in France is centred on the Pays de la Loire region, particularly the departments of Vendée and Loire Atlantique. Both of these departments have already begun to record bird flu cases. Since the first of August, which is considered to be the new bird season in France, Vendée has recorded 12 cases and Loire Atlantique has recorded two. While these cases may drop off as winter progresses, it is more typical for case numbers to increase as weather becomes colder and more migrating wildfowl arrive. The French government has now raised the risk level for bird flu from ‘moderate’ to ‘high’. Explaining this decision, Marc Fesneau, Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, said: “In a context marked by unprecedented persistence of the virus in th