The intense heat wave affecting Western Europe is causing significant losses in French poultry farming. According to agricultural entities in the country, hundreds of thousands of birds have died in recent days due to extreme temperatures, leading authorities to consider authorizing the burial of carcasses on farms themselves. On Tuesday (23), thermometers reached 44.3°C in France, and the weather forecast indicates that the intense heat will continue in the coming days. The greatest losses are concentrated in the Brittany and Pays de la Loire regions, responsible for almost 60% of the French poultry stock. The Chambers of Agriculture in these regions have issued statements warning of large-scale deaths on farms. The volume of dead animals has overwhelmed the services responsible for collecting and disposing of carcasses. Normally, the waste is sent to specialized recycling and animal by-product processing units. However, the operational capacity of the system has been exceeded in the face of the sudden increase in deaths. As an emergency measure, industry bodies have advised producers to use sawdust or wood shavings on the carcasses to absorb liquids and reduce health risks while awaiting removal. Burial on the properties is also being considered, but will depend on prior technical and environmental assessments. The crisis is occurring amidst a record heat wave affecting several Western European countries. In addition to livestock losses, the high temperatures have already caused deaths, power outages, school closures, and impacts on agricultural activities in various regions of the continent. France is the third largest poultry producer in the European Union, behind only Poland and Spain. According to data from the agricultural agency FranceAgriMer, a typical poultry farm in the country houses around 20,000 birds, while most farms operate with two production sheds.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.