Major bird flu outbreak after 10,000 cranes drop dead and infect entire flock of chickens

Thousands of migratory cranes have been killed in a severe outbreak of bird flu in France.

The outbreak, which began last month in Grand Est, France, has prompted wildlife authorities to deploy emergency teams and farmers to cull infectedbirds.

Up to 10,000 cranes have died in the region, according to the French Biodiversity Office (OFB), and more than 5,000 carcasses have been collected near Lac du Der, a major stopover site for the species during their annual migration.

According to Vincent Montibert, head of Haute-Marne Departmental service of French Biodiversity Office, the bird flu outbreak is unprecedented.

He said mobile brigades have been deployed and poultry farms in the area have been placed under confinement to contain the spread.

Despite containment measures, a laying hen farm located five kilometres from the lake reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The entire flock of 3,800 to 3,900 hens succumbed to the virus. Only 300 survived before they were culled.

‘It spreads very quickly among them. Every day more hens were dying, until almost the whole flock was gone,’ the farmer said.

They foresee a financial loss of €35,000 due to an estimated four-month halt in egg production.

Lac du Der attracts around 100,000 cranes each year and is a popular site for birdwatchers.

While the outbreak appears to be slowing, the OFB warned that further deaths are likely as the migration season continues and new birds arrive, potentially carrying the virus.

France required poultry to be confined indoors in high-risk areas from October 21 to prevent the spread of bird flu.

The French government has also made duck vaccination compulsory following a devastating epidemic in 2023.

A surge in bird flu cases in Europe has prompted more countries to confine millions of poultry indoors.

On Wednesday, Ireland imposed a country-wide housing order on poultry to protect them from the outbreak.

Nigel Sweetnam, chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association National Poultry Committee, said on Radio 1: ‘The whole pattern of bird flu is changing…

‘The challenge around this year is that it arrived probably a month earlier than normal and in different geographical locations [in Ireland]. It’s all together very, very worrying.’

France culled more than 20 million birds between 2021 and 2022. It issued a similar order to Ireland last month.

The Netherlands and Belgium took action in October, while Britain followed on Tuesday.

This season 15 EU countries have recorded outbreaks – and the number of cases this year have risen dramatically.

This year 688 cases have so far been recorded compared to 189 the year before.

Germany has been hit hard with 58 outbreaks out of 136 across the EU between August 1 and the end of October.

Around one million poultry been killed. However, while affected states have imposed housing orders, no country-wide order has been brought in.

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