USA09 May, 20262 min read
Farming Union Files Complaint Against X at Sainte-Livrade Over Avian Flu in Lot-et-Garonne
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Chambre d'agriculture CR Lot-et-Garonne filed a Sainte-Livrade gendarmerie complaint against X over avian influenza merchandise. Complaint cites fraud and deception on the merchandise, plus breach of prudence and safety obligations.
8 outlets told this the same way.
Avian flu complaint in France
In the Lot-et-Garonne department, a farming union has filed a complaint against X at the gendarmerie of Sainte-Livrade for fraud and deception on merchandise, and for failing to meet obligations of prudence and safety, according to a report cited by AFP. The same union said it also filed a complaint at the gendarmerie of Fumel, a commune bordering the Dordogne, while the ministry of Agriculture had listed six outbreaks of avian flu in Lot-et-Garonne. Patrick Franken, head of the farming union, told AFP that the department of 47 was free of avian flu and its H5N8 episode until animals from the Tarn infected a breeding operation in Monbahus, in the north of the department.
Franken argued that the virus was imported through negligence or a failure to follow biosafety rules and the precautionary principle in the Tarn, and he said nothing was planned to compensate for the financial losses. He also said an outbreak was signaled by a Tarn breeder with high duck mortality from Monday 28 November, and that despite this, animals left on Wednesday toward Lot-et-Garonne, the Gers, and the Landes, with strong mortality occurring at Monbahus on Thursday morning.
Interior unit and pesticides
In Gironde, the gendarmerie’s Demeter unit—described as the "National Unit for Monitoring Attacks on the Agricultural World"—made a Sunday visit to the president of the small Alerte pesticides Haute Gironde association. The article says the unit was created on October 3, 2019 and is led by the national gendarmerie, with an objective "prevent the commission of criminal acts," according to the Interior Ministry’s press kit. It also describes the unit’s mission as thwarting "criminal acts" in the countryside, but also "actions of an ideological nature, whether simple symbolic actions denigrating the agricultural milieu or hard actions with material or physical repercussions."
Henri Plandé, who prepares coffee in his kitchen in Samonac (Gironde), is quoted as being told by a gendarme: "We're here for Demeter, but we're not here to monitor you." The Le Monde.fr piece frames the Demeter visit as distinct from the Greek goddess of the harvest and from a certification label for products from biodynamic agriculture.
Ranching ties and grazing policy
In the United States, The Washington Post says a top Trump appointee at the Interior Department acknowledged involvement in policy changes that benefit ranching businesses like her family’s, according to a video shown in the reporting. The Washington Post frames the issue as conflicts of interest involving Trump appointees and says the comments overwhelmingly criticize the Trump administration for perceived corruption and self-dealing. The Post’s text also states that the appointee’s acknowledgment concerns changes to grazing policies that benefit ranching businesses like her family’s.
The article excerpt includes a line from the Post’s framing of reader reaction, saying: "The comments overwhelmingly criticize the Trump administration for perceived corruption and self-dealing". It further notes that the comments focus on what commenters see as unethical behavior being normalized, while the excerpt also shows that the piece is part of a subscription-gated page.