The morning fogs are dissipating on the Lannemezan plateau (Hautes Pyrénées) and the week of country vets can begin. At the Gypaète veterinary clinic the waiting room is already almost full. “Every day, between consultations, operations and unscheduled visits, about a hundred people come to us”says Clément Mestdagh, one of the ten veterinarians, assisted by nine assistants, who officiate in this group located in a rural area, facing the Pyrenees massif.
After quickly swallowing a coffee, Vivien Philis, a 41-year-old “veterinarian,” consults the specialized application on her phone. “Today will be relatively calm”he thinks. On the menu, some visits within a radius of 35 kilometers, where we identify 450 ruminant farmers, including 250 sheep farmers. “The animals, the open spaces, the contact with the breeders, that’s what I like. »
Like all practitioners, his studies lasted six years. At the end of the fifth year, students obtain the certificate of basic veterinary studies and then, after a year of in-depth study and defense of their thesis, obtain the state diploma of veterinary doctor.
Virus resurgence
Calves, cows, sheep, pigs and, here, the black pig of Bigorre, are the daily life of this rugby fan from Dordogne: vaccinations, births, broken or injured limbs, monitoring the herds and diseases. And, above all, in recent years, the appearance or resurgence of certain viruses or epizootics. “Since 2023, there has been a spread of epizootic hemorrhagic disease. [MHE]that affects cattle. “We have to admit that we weren’t really prepared for it.”explains the specialist. Viral disease not transmissible to humans and transmitted by mosquitoes, which affects domestic and wild ruminants.
In the case of sheep, it is bluetongue (BCF), which spreads in the fields and causes havoc since summer. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the new virus is present in more than 10% of French livestock, with a mortality rate of 10% to 30%. In Ariège, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales, agricultural chambers reported 6,000 dead animals at the end of August. According to Michèle Boudoin, president of the National Sheep Federation, linked to the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions, this figure would rise to 50,000 nationwide. Veterinarians are at the forefront.
This September morning, on her first visit, Vivien Philis goes to a Holstein dairy cow breeder. Over the weekend, one of his seventy cows showed red swelling on its snout, signs of fatigue, and the beginnings of conjunctivitis. “Suspicion of MHE, but we will also do FCO”the vet diagnoses. Blood samples are taken from under the animal’s tail. The results of the analysis laboratory will be known two days later. “In 2023 we lost 10% of milk production, especially because there were many dead calves. “No calves, no milk for the cows.”laments breeder Ghislain Laran.
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