Angry French farmers are calling for more protests over the government-backed slaughter of cattle herds affected by so-called Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD). On Thursday there were clashes between riot police and demonstrators in the southern Ariège department, after vets were called in to destroy potentially contaminated cattle at a farm. Elsewhere in the south, farmers have dumped manure outside government buildings and blocked roads. The offices of several environmentalist groups were ransacked in the Charente-Maritime department. LSD is a highly contagious bovine disease which is transmitted mainly by fly-bites. The symptoms are fever, mucal discharge and nodules on the skin. Though mainly non-fatal, it can badly affect milk-production and the cows are unsaleable. The disease arrived in Europe from Africa about ten years ago. France's first outbreak was in the Alps in June, when an infected herd forced the Tour de France cycle race to cut short one of its stages. The government's policy of slaughtering entire herds where a single animal has been infected has run up against bitter opposition from two of the three main farmers' unions. Conféderation Rurale and Conféderation Paysanne say the policy is being brutally applied and is in any case unnecessary because a combination of selective culling and vaccination would suffice. But most vets disagree. Stephanie Philizot, who heads the SNGTV vets' union, said, Right now we are unable to tell the difference between a healthy animal and a symptomless animal carrying the virus. That is the only reason we have to carry out these whole-herd slaughters. Since June, there have been around 110 outbreaks of LSD in France, originally in the east but now increasingly in the south-west, leading to the slaughter of about 3,000 animals. The French government is worried the protests could snowball into a wider movement among a farming population that feels under threat from EU norms and foreign competition. A big protest is planned in Brussels next week during the EU leaders' summit, as several French farming sectors face crises from avian flu to falling wine consumption.
Farmers Protest Against Cattle Culling in France Over Disease Outbreak
Farmers Protest Against Cattle Culling in France Over Disease Outbreak
After a government mandate leads to the slaughter of cattle herds due to Lumpy Skin Disease, farmers in France react with protests and blockades, calling for change and voicing their concerns about agricultural policies.
French farmers are staging protests in response to the government’s efforts to cull cattle herds infected with Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD). As the disease continues to spread, tensions flare between farmers and authorities, with violent clashes reported and farmers blocking roads and vandalizing government buildings. Farmers are calling for alternative measures to be taken to combat the disease, as frustrations grow over the impact of EU regulations and trade agreements on their livelihoods.
