Aveyron: Growing concern among breeders over diseases affecting herds

Les responsables syndicaux redoutent, à terme, une déstabilisation des marchés. AD

Les représentants de la FDSEA et des JA de l’Aveyron ont tiré la sonnette d’alarme concernant les différentes maladies qui touchent aussi bien les élevages ovins que bovins. Une situation qui pourrait s’aggraver si les vaccins ne sont pas mis en circulation rapidement.

A real race against time has been engaged by breeders. For several weeks now, their herds have been affected by three diseases. In August 2023, with the detection of a new strain of serotype 8, which characterizes the virus, of bluetongue (BT) in Aveyron, then in September 2023, with the arrival of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) from Spain to the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and finally, on August 5, when the first case of a new serotype, 3, of BT was detected from Belgium to the North.

Three diseases that can be fatal to animals, “but which do not concern humans”, specify the leaders of the FDSEA and JA. Three viruses carried by the same midges, the culicoides. Today, the situation was deemed sufficiently worrying for the leaders of the two main agricultural unions, the FDSEA and the JA, to meet with the parliamentarians who responded to their invitation. “The tension is rising a notch, insists Marie-Amélie Viargues, president of the FDSEA. The health situation is more than worrying, it is already starting to have repercussions on our farms.

Pressure on laboratories

Indeed, these different diseases can lead to production drops, births, or even the loss of animals. To try to stop this spread, “the State must order enough vaccines to guarantee rapid implementation of a vaccination campaign, explains Marie-Amélie Viargues.

Only the State can put pressure on laboratories to launch production on a larger scale. And above all, this will help smooth out prices. We also ask that the State take charge of financing these vaccines.”

Nationally, in 2023, more than 2,000 sheep, 450 adult cattle and 260 young cattle succumbed to FCO-8, according to the FDSEA. “However, we advise breeders not to wait, recalls Germain Albespy, member of the FDSEA office. In Aveyron, around 70% of the sheep herd had already been vaccinated. The consequences could have been even more serious.”

The unions are also demanding that losses be compensated and that the movement of animals be facilitated, after their vaccination and with a PCR test. Because, beyond the loss of animals, there is the risk of “destabilizing markets with falling prices if we plan to sell animals for export and they are not vaccinated”, fear union representatives.

While many farms are already fragile, this new episode risks “further harming our farms,” argues Marie-Amélie Viargues. Especially since farmers' anger has not subsided and the measures expected after the long crisis we have experienced are still awaited. And this is despite a very significant mobilization. It is urgent today to hear this message. Many are worn out by this situation."

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