Lumpy skin disease in Savoie: nearly 200 people mobilized again in Cessens to prevent the slaughter of a herd of cows

Since last week, a Savoie farmer has been refusing to allow health services to carry out a preventive cull to prevent the spread of the animal disease. He is supported in particular by the Rural Coordination and the Peasant Confederation.

Nearly 200 people gathered again on Monday, July 14, to prevent the slaughter of a herd of cows in Cessens (Savoie), in which two animals died of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle last week, ICI Pays de Savoie (formerly France Bleu) reported .

Like last Thursday, farmers and neighbors came to support the farm of Pierre-Jean Duchêne, who is refusing to slaughter his 121 cows threatened by lumpy skin disease (LSD), following two cases of contamination in his herd. The animal disease, which poses no danger to humans, is spreading in the region. Since last week, the farmer has refused to allow health services to carry out a preventive cull to prevent the spread of LSD. He is supported by the Rural Coordination and the Peasant Confederation.

About fifteen people arrived overnight from Sunday to Monday, fearing they would be blocked by law enforcement. "We arrived at midnight and slept in the building with the cows, with the bare minimum," explains Michael Jacobi, manager of a forestry company, who came with a friend. Even though he doesn't know Pierre-Jean Duchêne personally, "in the business, we support each other." "We don't slaughter an entire herd, behind an entire family, for one or two positive cases," he says.

The protesters who came in support were retired workers from the industry, while others came from the city or the surrounding countryside, like Isabelle Mathy, a dairy farmer in Ain. She traveled 50 km to show her support for Pierre-Jean Duchêne. "When there are no more breeders, when there is no more tome, it will be sad (...) my father, also a breeder, shot himself in the heart when I was 19, he gave in to the pressure, the stress." She spoke of "the trauma of losing a herd."

Around 5 a.m., 70 people gathered in front of the dairy farm buildings. Equipment was installed to block the entrance to the farm. A few hours later, there were nearly 200 people, arriving drop by drop, ICI Pays de Savoie reported. Pierre-Jean Duchêne has not yet had any additional cases on his farm. The mobilization is affecting him.

"It's heartwarming, we've received so many messages of support from within and outside the industry."

Pierre-Jean Duchêne, farmer

to ICI Pays de Savoie

The Rural Coordination is protesting against the waste of discarded meat, "tons of meat" , "even though it is not contaminated, it is edible!", criticizes Jérémy Béchet-Barbat, co-president of the Rural Coordination. The union is calling for the suspension of the slaughter order, tests on the cows, and a veterinary study until the end of the incubation period in ten days. It hopes that this herd will also be used to learn more about this disease, which is little known in France.

Meanwhile, the mobilization is expected to continue in the coming days. About ten kilometers away, just under one hundred cows will be slaughtered on Monday in Marigny-Saint-Marcel (Haute-Savoie), following the discovery of two positive cases of dermatitis, ICI Pays de Savoie reports.