Six cases of the highly pathogenic bird flu strain have been confirmed on farms in France’s southwestern high-value poultry farming region and the ministry of agriculture has raised the alert level to “high risk” to the entire country. This was already in place around water bodies used by migratory wild birds.

Another case of H5N8 bird flu was confirmed in a wild bird near Calais, on the coast of the narrow Channel strait separating France from the UK.

All poultry farms in France must now install nets to avoid contact between farmed and wild birds. All poultry shows and sales are cancelled and releases of game birds for shooting have been brought under stricter control.

The current outbreak has been spreading from eastern Europe in the past two months and several hundred thousand birds have been culled at infected farms.

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