The windy cliffs of the island of Rouzic must be teeming with gannets, but an out-of-season wave of bird flu off the French Atlantic coast this summer in Europe devastated the species’ numbers, alarming conservationists and poultry farmers.
Thousands of seabirds have died around France’s west coast in recent weeks from the viral infection, which usually occurs during the autumn and winter months in the Northern Hemisphere, raising fears it could have become a year-long risk. and endemic to French wildlife.
This poses a danger to France’s poultry industry, the second largest in the European Union, which was forced to cull more than 19 million birds between November and May because of avian influenza, as avian flu is formally called.
“Avian flu is hitting seabirds in spring and summer, which is totally new. Traditionally, avian flu mainly affects waterfowl during winter,” said Pascal Provost, director of the Sept-Iles archipelago bird reserve, which includes the island of Rouzic.
Since late July, seven new outbreaks of bird flu have been confirmed on French farms, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
“The situation is exceptional – never encountered in France before – due to its scale and the period in which cases are being detected,” the ministry said on its website, warning of the risk of contamination of the farms.
Avian influenza is usually transmitted through the feces of infected migratory wild birds or through direct contact with contaminated food, clothing and equipment.
Source: CNN Brasil
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