French foie gras farmers angry as bird flu grips region

WHAT WILL I TELL MY BANKER?

With the virus still not under control, it is too early to give a date for output to restart where culls had been made, scientists say, a response that has upset many in Nogaro.

Stronger security measures required after last year's outbreak including shelters, disinfection tools and roofs to protect farmed ducks from wild birds, the main carrier of the virus, have forced many farmers to take out punishing loans.

"What will I tell my banker if you can't give me a date?," one young farmer shouted at the meeting.

Around 600,000 ducks have either died from the virus or been slaughtered in infected farms as of Wednesday. A further 920,000 were to be culled in France's preventive eradication plan, Cifog's general secretary Marie-Pierre Pe said.

This will lead to a loss for farmers estimated at 120 million euros ($128 million), she said.

Pierre Peres, who produces foie gras and other specialty foods, had to cull his 20,000 ducks late last year after discovering the H5N8 virus in two of six premises on his farm in Saint-Michel, tucked in the rolling hills of the Gers.

The bird flu virus entered the farm even though he had invested 60,000 euros on preventive measures, Peres, wearing blue overboots in a bid to prevent the virus from spreading, told Reuters during a tour of his now empty farm.

"My son, who was about to join the farm, is now thinking about doing something else because our job is so fragile," he said.

"One blow is okay, after two, you start doubting." ($1 = 0.9370 euros)