The island of Rouzic's windswept clifftops should be teeming with gannets, but an unseasonal wave of bird flu on the French Atlantic coast this summer has devastated their numbers, alarming conservationists and poultry farmers.
Thousands of seabirds have perished along France's western shores in past weeks because of the viral infection, which usually strikes during autumn and winter months, raising fears it may have become a year-round risk and endemic to French wildlife.
After a brief lull in farm outbreaks in May, the French government eased poultry farming curbs in June.However, soon after the virus hit flocks along the Brittany coast, slowly spreading south. Since late July, seven new bird flu outbreaks have been confirmed on French farms, according to the agriculture ministry.
French poultry farmers are still recovering from previous outbreaks and the mass culling that followed, and before the latest outbreaks already faced a near 10% fall in output this year, industry group Anvol said.
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