French bird flu wave ends after 10 million birds culled

A wave of bird flu outbreaks in France last month has come to a halt after the culling of 10 million birds this season, the farm ministry said on Wednesday, as it confirmed it would launch vaccination against the virus in the autumn.
France has been among countries worst affected by the unprecedented spread of avian influenza – commonly called bird flu – that has killed hundreds of millions of birds in the past two years, disrupting supply of poultry meat and eggs.
Some 22 million birds were culled in France in the 2021/22 season.
Vaccination against bird flu will start in October and will be mandatory for all ducks across France, making it the first country in the world to launch a nationwide vaccination campaign, farm ministry officials told reporters.
The length of the vaccination campaign – whether all year round or just in the autumn and winter – is still to be decided, depending on the budget allocated, the officials said.