In recent days, roads in south-west France have been filled with tractors and bales of burning hay. Farmers are protesting government orders to cull entire herds after outbreaks of lumpy skin disease, a viral infection in cattle that is harmless to humans but devastating for trade.
Since the first case was confirmed in June, more than 3,000 animals have been slaughtered across at least nine departments, and one herd of over 200 cows was killed after only a single confirmed infection.
Brutal Scenes, Thin Margins
The images are brutal. Cows that appear healthy are taken away under police escort, whilst owners watch years of work disappear in a single afternoon.
Anger has built up as herds are killed “for prevention” rather than because animals are visibly suffering. Farmers’ unions such as Coordination Rurale argue that widespread vaccination and quarantine would be a better answer.
The government insists that culling follows EU animal-health rules and is needed to protect exports. Public sympathy has largely focused on the farmers.
Many operate on thin margins, and even with compensation they fear that losing entire herds will push them out of business. Yet the protests also reveal a deeper contradiction.
Mass killing of animals is not new in Europe. It is the foundation of cheap meat and dairy. The shock here comes from slaughter happening outside the usual frame of the abattoir, where consumers do not have to look.
Climate and Disease
Lumpy skin disease spreads through insects, and warmer weather across Europe has helped it move north from regions where it was once confined. Veterinary experts warn that climate change will make similar outbreaks more frequent, affecting sheep, goats and other livestock as well.
In that sense, the crisis is not just about disease management but about how intensive farming models respond to a changing environment. High densities of animals, long-distance transport and trade dependence all increase the stakes after a virus appears.
For the cows, the distinction between being killed after a full fattening cycle and being killed early because of a disease protocol may not mean much. For the humans involved it means everything.
Farmers feel their skills and care are being reduced to a line in a biosecurity plan. Consumers, meanwhile, can continue to buy beef and milk without confronting how tightly their diets are tied to these decisions.
Alternatives Remain Difficult
There are alternatives, but none are simple. Moving towards fewer animals, higher welfare and more plant-based diets would reduce both emissions and vulnerability to disease, yet this would reshape rural economies that already feel under pressure from trade deals and supermarket pricing.
Some French regions are now rushing to vaccinate up to one million cattle, an attempt to move away from blanket culls whilst still protecting exports.
This episode demonstrates that “animal welfare” is often defined by market tolerance. Killing thousands of cows to keep access to foreign buyers is framed as unfortunate but necessary.
Slowing production to reduce risk, or paying more for meat that reflects its true cost, remains politically harder.
After the Protests
The protests in France will eventually end, either through new rules or fatigue. The cows that were culled will not return, and the system that made them both valuable and disposable at once will still be in place.
Europe faces a choice about such crises. They can prompt a deeper rethink, or they can remain temporary shocks in a food chain that continues to hide its most uncomfortable moments behind the walls of the slaughterhouse.
Keep up with Daily Euro Times for more updates.
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