France to cull 600,000 more ducks as fights bird flu virus
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The latest cull will take place in the Landes region of southwest France, which is home to the most of the country's foie gras producers.
"We have already culled a lot of ducks in the eastern bit of that area. We know that there is still an area remaining where we will have to take action to cull all the ducks," Le Foll told the France Bleu regional radio station.
France and Hungary have been the countries hardest hit by the highly contagious H5N8 virus that has been spreading across Europe as well as Middle Eastern countries in the past three months.
France launched a massive cull in January to try to contain the virus and said a month ago it would scale back preventative slaughtering after the spread of the virus slowed, but the number of farms infected has nevertheless continued to rise. ■