France orders massive duck cull to contain bird flu

Ducks at a fresh market in Taipei wait to be slaughtered January 29, 2004. Taiwan found new cases of H5N2, a milder strain of avian flu, in ducks in the southwestern county of Yunlin on Thursday and plans to cull 10,000 ducks in a bid to stop the spread of the disease. (REUTERS/Simon Kwong)

PARIS – France on Wednesday ordered a massive cull of ducks in three regions most affected by a severe episode of bird flu, as it tries to contain the virus which has been spreading quickly over the past month, the agriculture ministry said.

All free range ducks, as well as geese, will be slaughtered between Jan. 5 and approximately Jan. 20 in an area in southwestern France comprising parts of the Gers, Landes and Hautes-Pyrenees administrative departments, it said in a statement.

Some farms will be exempted, however, including those which confine birds and those that perform full production cycles, from ducklings to transformation into end-products.

Southwestern France, home to most producers of foie gras made of duck and geese liver, had already been the center of a severe episode of bird flu last year, although outbreaks involved other strains.

Several European countries and Israel have found cases of the contagious H5N8 strain over the past two months and some have ordered poultry flocks be kept indoors to prevent the disease spreading.