French farmers have been allowed to repopulate regions of the South West which were cleared of susceptible domestic birds in a bid to prevent highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu, which hit the region hard, spreading from farm to farm in late 2016 and early 2017.

Authorities gassed millions of ducks and other birds in five departments of the South West - the heart of France’s poultry industry - in January and March, in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease, which does not appear to affect humans, but which is devastating and highly contagious to susceptible bird species. Following the preventative culls, a six week quarantine period was observed, in which birds weren’t allowed back into the affected regions.   

From 29th May - a few days before the remaining strict disease-control conditions placed on bird keepers were lifted - farm businesses were allowed to reintroduce goslings and ducklings to the South-West. Strict biosecurity measures must still be observed until at least March 2018 and the French government said there is still a heightened disease surveillance programme in effect in France, but birds began returning to the departments of Gers, Haute- Garonne, Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes Pyrénées late last month, after the last case of H5N8 on a farm was reported in late March.

On Monday, France’s agriculture department reduced the disease threat level from “moderate” to “negligible”; France’s “Heightened” risk status was reduced to “moderate” in mid-April.

The government also announced the entry into force of a disease prevention pact signed between agriculture minster Stephane LeFoll and representatives from the poultry industry in April. Speaking on Monday, LeFoll said, “I praise the involvement of all professionals, from all levels of the supply chain, in the management of this crisis. They showed courage, rigour and responsibility in agreeing to impose these restrictive measures, such as preventive slaughter.

“This sacrifice paid off: it made it possible to limit the crisis to one area and to spare the rest of the country.”

Although there have been no new cases of H5N8 in France since March, authorities confirmed a case of H7 bird flu in central France last month. The H7 strain is less severe than the H5N8 that ravaged the South-West’s industry this year, but it will be a further worry for producers in France, who have been left reeling after successive bouts of different strains of bird flu have hit various parts of the country in recent years. The H7 outbreak at a farm with almost 5,000 ducks and pheasants in Saulnay was reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on Tuesday. All birds at the farm were culled.

Meanwhile in the UK, although the outbreaks were never as bad as in France (which is the EU’s major poultry producer), sporadic cases of H5N8 bird flu have continued to affect backyard flocks this year, with the latest case reported in Norfolk over the weekend. Even so, the last remaining disease prevention measures have been lifted, with the exception of the 10km surveillance zone established this week in Norfolk and a three-county area in the North West of England, where two recent cases were reported and certain restrictions remain in place. Defra’s veterinary advisors have urged bird keepers to remain vigilant for signs of H5N8, follow strict biosecurity regimes and to inform the Animal and Plant Healthy Agency (APHA) if any concerns arise.