In France, this bovine epidemic of contagious nodular dermatitis is shaking up the cattle industry. On December 12, 2025, the new Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard confirms a course of action: total culling of infected herds, zoning, and vaccination around outbreaks, from the Alps to the Pyrenees. The new Minister of Agriculture displays a marked radicality. She applies it through various concrete measures. Furthermore, the State promises aid to farmers. However, unions and environmentalists advocate for other alternatives. An investigation close to the farms and decisions.
On a hill in Ariège, a day that turns
Tractors blocked the road at dawn. At the end of the gray ribbon, the farm overlooks Les Bordes-sur-Arize (Ariège). In the yard, a veterinarian, with a fluorescent armband, quietly goes over the protocol: movement restrictions, secured perimeter, sampling. The word falls, heavy as a storm: "depopulation." Around, neighbors stand with crossed arms. "We want to understand," says one of them. Others call for calm. In the bed of a pickup truck, disposable gloves, overboots, sealed bags. The contagious nodular dermatitis (CND) has shattered the ordinary day of animals and humans.
Since June 29, 2025, the date of the first outbreak in Savoie, the epidemic has drawn a diagonal of alerts on the map: Alps, Jura, then Pyrenees. On December 9, more than a hundred outbreaks in cattle farms were detected in France. These figures come from the ministry, but the perimeters and counts remain evolving. Ariège has just entered the statistics. Procedures apply, at the farm, on the roads, in slaughterhouses.
At the ministry, an assumed line: "culling is the only solution"
In Paris, Annie Genevard, Minister of Agriculture, hammers her position: "culling is the only solution" to extinguish outbreaks and protect the industry. CND, she reminds, is highly contagious, vector-borne (transmitted notably by insects), and sometimes difficult to detect at the start. A poorly circumscribed outbreak "would pose a major risk to the livestock." The Minister of Agriculture advocates a strict protocol: total culling in infected farms, disinfection, monitoring, and regulated zones.
The figures she presents are striking: "108 outbreaks eradicated" and "3,000 cattle culled." This represents about 0.02% of the national herd. A worst-case scenario foresees "up to 1.5 million cattle dead" if the disease spreads. The comparison aims to justify the radicality of the response. "Not a single euro cent will be lost," she promises farmers. She mentions compensations in support. These compensations cover the value of the animals, operational losses, and health costs.
Who is Annie Genevard, Minister of Agriculture?
Elected from Doubs, a literature teacher by training, Annie Genevard has built a reputation as a woman of order and method in the assembly as well as in the government. Her career includes the mayoralty of Morteau, the National Assembly, then Agriculture. This sheds light on a culture of decision-making. Moreover, it reveals a close relationship with public authority. At Annie Genevard’s office, health and commercial files are closely monitored, as are dairy product exports and the goal of food sovereignty. For her close associates, her line is simple: make decisions when animal health and the collective interest are at stake. Official portrait; government profile.
A European protocol, French procedures
The strategy fits within a European framework: zoning, movement reduction, "stamping-out" (depopulation in outbreaks), and vaccination as pillars. The European Commission took emergency measures in 2025. It calls for the establishment of restricted zones. Moreover, it authorizes states to activate exceptional tools. European law (the "animal health" regulation) and national decrees frame the controls. Furthermore, they govern transport, culling, and compensation. Finally, they ensure traceability. For France, this involves maps evolving with prefectural decrees. Additionally, enhanced veterinary controls are applied. Moreover, finely targeted exemptions prevent suffocating the industry.
Vaccination, zoning, compensation: promises and constraints
Around each outbreak, the system combines protection zones (up to 50 km according to the texts) and mandatory vaccination. The minister says she is considering an extension of vaccination, while highlighting the logistical constraints: volumes of doses, cold chain, mobilized veterinarians, prioritization by age or use. The maps have already been extended in the Southwest after the appearance of outbreaks far from the Alpine zones. Farmers, for their part, demand clear schedules, respected payment deadlines, and proof that vaccination "follows" the virus.
On the compensation side, the State promises a complete safety net: market value, operational losses, disinfection. The commitment to completeness – "not a cent" – engages both budgetary credibility and social peace. Many demand a one-stop shop, the publicity of scales, and controllable deadlines.
The response of farmers and unions
On the ground, anger is surfacing. Farmer collectives have interrupted culling operations. Indeed, this happens especially when the disease affects only one animal in a herd. The Confédération paysanne leads the protest against "all culling": it advocates for an alternative protocol – targeted culling, enhanced monitoring, expanded vaccination – and has called for blockades "across France." Other organizations, more concerned with health security, mainly demand guarantees on equity between departments and on the responsiveness of services.
In the Pyrenees, the announcement of the euthanasia of a herd of about 200 cows has crystallized tensions and clashes. Prefects insist on the rule of law, veterinarians remind of the danger of a prevented intervention. "No violence," repeats the minister, who says she understands the distress but refuses to disarm the protocol.
Environmentalists and the issue of animal welfare
On the environmentalists’ side, Marine Tondelier and animalist elected officials expect transparency and proportionality. They demand the publication of inspection reports and evaluations of alternatives. Furthermore, culling conditions must respect animal welfare rules at the highest level. Moreover, vaccination must be maximized when it is effective. Associations invite measuring the suffering related to the disease itself, such as ulcers and weight loss. Additionally, the decrease in milk production should be considered compared to that of a sanitary operation under veterinary control. The debate here does not only oppose farmers and administration; it questions what the community accepts to avoid worse.
Sidebar — CND: what are we talking about?
Contagious nodular dermatitis (CND, lumpy skin disease) is a viral disease of cattle; it is not transmissible to humans. It spreads mainly through biting insects and causes skin nodules, fever, lesions, production drop. Appeared in Africa, it spread to Asia and Europe. Detection in France: June 2025. For more information: Anses sheet (scientific basis) and European regulation. Anses – CND; Ministerial point.
Why total culling?
In eradication strategies in Europe, the "stamping-out" option aims to quickly eliminate a viral source that is difficult to detect early and active even in discreet carriers. Associated with zoning and vaccination, it reduces the exposure time as well as market disruptions. Moreover, it includes exports by shortening the episode. This logic is not absolute: it assumes fair compensations, strict control of steps (capture, stunning, killing, rendering), and public evaluations of effects.
Is the animal case well defended?
French regulations require animal welfare officers in slaughterhouses and procedures aimed at reducing suffering. The field challenges these principles: urgent operations, isolated farms, social tensions. Hence the need for trained teams, audits, and a public feedback at the end of the crisis. Associations demand the publication of reports and incidents (if any). Farmers, for their part, demand to see, understand, and be compensated without delays.
A doctrine under commercial pressure
Another argument circulates in the corridors: France’s sanitary credibility with its clients. Export restrictions may fall if the strategy is deemed insufficient. Raw milk cheeses, for example, already face additional requirements in some markets. It’s a balance: protecting animal health without permanently weakening the industry’s image.
A method, cracks: what the Genevard affair says
Beyond the health case, the episode reveals the strengths and limits of a method: vertical, assumed, measured by quick results. Annie Genevard, Minister of Agriculture, bears the political risk of a radical and unpopular strategy in some territories. She advances public health order, promises compensations, and seeks support in European law. Opponents, on the other hand, emphasize proportionality, ethics, and the resilience of farms.
What everyone is now watching
In three, six, twelve months, the question will be measurable. At least three indicators will tell if the strategy has held:
- Epidemiology: clear decrease in new outbreaks over several weeks. No lasting spread outside initial zones, shortened extinction time of outbreaks.
- Vaccination: coverage rate in zones close to 100%, availability of doses, deadlines respected between order and injection.
- Economy & trade: easing of export restrictions, resumption of flows, compensations paid to 100% of beneficiaries within public deadlines.
At these benchmarks, we can add the quality of the operations: reported incidents, published audits, shared feedback. In short: not only how many outbreaks, but how the response was conducted.
What will decide
What public indicator will show that the strategy has succeeded? The ministry suggests the disappearance of outbreaks and a protected livestock. Farmers expect quick payments and proof that total culling prevents a lasting crisis. Environmentalists demand guarantees on animal welfare and transparency. The verifiable answer will come through shared figures and publicly released reports, without any gray areas.