On Oct. 2, 2023, France began vaccinating ducks against bird flu to try and stem the virus that killed millions of birds worldwide, a move that prompted the United States to impose trade restrictions on French poultry imports.

France was among the countries worst affected by an unprecedented global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, that disrupted supply of poultry meat and eggs and sent prices rocketing in many parts of the globe in the past years.

Vaccination is mandatory for all ducks on farms that have more than 250 birds and whose products were meant to be sold in the form of meat or foie gras. A total of 64 million ducks at 2,700 farms needed to be vaccinated over a year for a total cost of nearly 100 million euros ($105 million), of which 85% was financed by the state.