Farmers in southwest France blocked major roads overnight from Friday to Saturday, setting fire to hay bales and clashing with police in protest at government‑ordered cattle culls linked to an outbreak of lumpy skin disease.
Culls are ordered to protect the sector. It’s always fascinating how this plays out because they should be the ones asking for it.
The protests mark a surge of anger across France’s farming sector, already under pressure from successive animal health crises and mounting economic strain.
Yeah, because the animal farming sector is an abomination, a purulent sore on the face of the planet.
I have a hard time feeling sympathetic for farmers who are protesting that the government won’t let them sell diseased livestock.
Interestingly, the farmers mention that vaccination would be preferable to culling. I don’t see any reason to disagree with that. But it does beg the question: if they’d rather vaccinate their livestock against disease, then why didn’t they?
It sounds to me like they gambled with their herd’s health to cut costs and lost. Now they’re looking for someone to blame
