Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Many wild seabirds, and in particular the northern gannets which nest off Brittany, fell victim to an epidemic of avian flu this summer (illustrative photo taken in Ireland in June 2021).
ANIMALS – ” I’m panicked. This admission is eloquent because it is Allain Bougrain-Dubourg who does it. The founder of the League for the Protection of Birds, interviewed by our colleagues from franceinfo, is indeed concerned about the scale taken in this month of August by the avian flu epidemic which is wreaking havoc among wild birds, in particular on the coast.
In recent days, a cry of alarm has been raised in particular about the only French colony of gannets. Installed in the nature reserve of Sept-Îles, off Perros-Guirec, in the Côtes-d’Armor, these birds are indeed decimated by the virus. Since July 1, when the first corpse was discovered, bird flu has been progressing in a terribly worrying way.
In the local press, several witnesses deplored that in the midst of nesting, empty nests multiply (a sign of the death of their occupants), The Parisian evoking the figure of 80% of deserted nests. Result: the remaining birds continue to live among the corpses of their congeners, chicks as well as adult individuals.
Gannets, vultures, gulls…
” I have never seen that “, alarmed for example the photographer Michel Prat, questioned by The Tregor. ” Many nests are empty, corpses litter the rock, chicks, juveniles died after the death of the parents… A concern that is all the more acute as other colonies have already been devastated by this global epidemic. In Scotland for example, that of Bass Rock, the most populated in the world, saw the death of thousands of gannets.
And these are not the only wild animals affected by the ravages of the epidemic. In addition to herring gulls occupying the same spaces as gannets, ” we also found contaminated gulls on the island of Oléron or vultures in the Cévennes “, specifies Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, still at franceinfo.
However, the current situation is particularly difficult to grasp from a logistical point of view. ” We cannot collect the birds to bring them to care centers, because they would contaminate all those currently kept in our centers », explains Allain Bougrain-Dubourg. ” It’s extremely complex but it’s unbearable to let the birds die like that. »
A scourge that is difficult to stem
In Côtes-d’Armor, however, measures have been taken to try to prevent the spread of the bird flu virus to farmed birds. In particular, the authorities invite travelers returning from the nature reserve to change before any contact with pets and the disinfection of shoes has been made compulsory upon return to earth.
In the rest of the country, while the waves of the epizootic follow one another at a worrying pace for breeders and ten million poultry had already been slaughtered in March, the agricultural world is also mobilizing. In the Southwest, for example, it was decided to completely empty the duck farms between December 15 and January 15, an attempt to try to stop the virus, even if it meant temporarily losing financially. But with already 1,300 outbreaks of bird flu detected in the country since November, the time has come for shock measures.
Allain Bougrain-Dubourg hopes to obtain the intervention of the public authorities to help wild animals. ” Last night I sent an opinion to the Minister of Agriculture who is in charge of this question “, he explained this Sunday, August 28 at the microphone of franceinfo. ” I have no answer at the time when I speak to you. I regret. »
See also on The HuffPost: Thousands of migrating cranes die of bird flu in Israel