French gendarmes watch the removal of a body of a cow on a farm affected by lumpy skin disease (LSD) in Les-Bordes-sur-Arize, in the Ariège department of southwestern France, on December 12, 2025. VALENTINE CHAPUIS / AFP
Veterinarians arrived at a French farm on Friday, December 12, under police escort to slaughter a herd of cows suffering from a potentially deadly disease, an Agence France-Presse reporter said, after police used tear gas to clear away angry protesters trying to protect the animals.
Farmers have staged protests in several parts of France in recent days, accusing the authorities of not doing enough to support them. Hundreds of agricultural workers have demonstrated for two days outside the farm in the southern area of Ariège near the Spanish border.
They set up a cordon around the farm after the authorities on Wednesday said that more than 200 Blonde d'Aquitaine cows at the farm had nodular dermatitis – widely known as lumpy skin disease – and would have to be euthanized.
Protestors walk towards a roadblock during a demonstration against the slaughter of a 200-cow herd, in Les-Bordes-sur-Arize, in the Ariège department of southwestern France, on December 11, 2025. MATTHIEU RONDEL / AFP
