At a time when intensive farming is wreaking havoc, Nicolas, organic grain producer and free-range poultry farmer, has pledged to always respect the welfare of his animals. For twenty years it has set an example by opposing the industry standards imposed on it. Discovery.
Nicolas Petit, farmer in Auch, in the Gers, said no to veterinary products, GMOs and stables that should ‘protect’ his breeding. For almost 20 years, the poultry has been kept outdoors, in complete freedom, and fed on organic fruits and grains from the farm. But that’s not all, because despite the avian flu epidemic, chickens and capons are escaping the enclosure, an obligation still imposed by the state to prevent contamination from wild birds.
If Nicolas takes this risk, it is because his poultry has never been infected since he circumvented these government measures. They are escaping any epidemic, while nearby dozens of breeders in southwestern France are being hit hard by the epizootic.
“I’ve been a producer for 20 years, today I don’t have parasitism. I have no viral problems. How come on a farm like mine, which has 10,000 poultry year round, no veterinary products are used? †
Watch this fragment from the report “Sauve qui poule”, broadcast this Saturday on France 2
Passionate about his work, Nicolas refuses to deprive his poultry of freedom: “I like to put myself in their shoes. When I think about how I’m going to raise them, I say to myself: am I good or am I not good?’ That’s why I don’t want to lock them up, because I wouldn’t want to. †
For information, Nicolas Petit was visited by the National Office after this television broadcast. The producer is forced to house his poultry for the next few days, as the law has imposed since November 4, 2021, due to the bird flu epidemic.