France to vaccinate millions of ducks against bird flu despite risk of import restrictions

France began vaccinating millions of ducks on Monday (Oct 2), becoming theonly European country with a vaccination campaign against bird flu in a bid to avoid mass culls. The move comes despite countries like the United States and Japan saying that they would impose import restrictions on French poultry.

France has been one of the countries worst affected by the unprecedented global spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu.

“There’s high pressure from the virus, but vaccination should mean we only face individual cases, avoiding the tidal wave sweeping through farms,” said Jocelyn Marguerie, poultry chief at the SNGTV farm vets’ association, as quoted by AFP.

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What is France planning to do?

Around 60 million ducks are to be vaccinated across the country over the next year after France made the two-jab course for ducklings as young as 10 days on farms raising more than 250 birds mandatory from October.

The first shots were administered on Monday morning to ducks on a farm in the Landes, a region in southwestern France in the presence of Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau. “It’s a moment of optimism, we have the feeling of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” Fesneau told reporters there.

The total cost to vaccinate the millions of birds is estimated to be $102 million (96 million euros), out of which 85 per cent will be funded by the government.

The country’s first 80 million doses will come from pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.

Bird flu in France

France’s liver for foie gras or meat-producing duck sector is especially sensitive to the virus. The country’s poultry population saw a wave of bird flu in 2015-17 and has suffered nearly constant outbreaks since 2020.

“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,” said duck and fois gras makers group CIFOG.

The discovery of one case would mean culling for the whole farm and others nearby, often bringing a heavy financial toll on French farmers.

“I’ve been caught up in four culls since 2016. I hope we’ll get back to being unscathed. (vaccination) has to work!” Thierry Dezes, who raises ducks in Landes and plans to jab some 5,000 ducklings, as quoted by AFP.

There has been some backlash about the move as one farmer told AFP how customers don’t want meat from “vaccinated ducks”.

US, Japan import restrictions

The US imposed restrictions on imports of French poultry starting October 1 citing a risk of introduction and spread of the virus into the country since vaccinated birds may not show signs of infection.

Meanwhile, a senior official at the Japanese ministry of agriculture told AFP that Tokyo would suspend imports of French poultry products after the vaccination campaign had started.

(With inputs from agencies)

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