France has slaughtered 16 million captive birds since the start of the current bird flu epidemic, a record number of sacrifices in the country, officials said on Monday.

“The peak of the epidemic was at the end of March and the epidemic is slowing down”, explained the Ministry of Agriculture.

Since the first case detected in northern France at the end of November, the virus has spread to 1,364 farms, more than half of the west of the country, where the authorities have ordered massive sacrifices, including of healthy animals, in a preventive way.

Crises linked to avian flu are concentrated in southeastern France, mainly in poultry farms intended for the production of foie gras. In 2021, almost 500 outbreaks were recorded and 3.5 million animals were euthanized, especially ducks.

Avian influenza, which spreads in migratory animals from Asia, has a seasonal character: it usually starts in October in Europe and lasts until April.

For the first time, wild birds have contaminated farms on their way back from southern countries, which has triggered a second wave that is coming to an end.

These crises have generated important losses for breeders, with the suspension of production and exports, and also for the State, which has to pay compensation for slaughtered animals and associated losses.