Why are French farms experiencing so many animal disease outbreaks?

The recent arrival of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in France, with the 115^th case recorded on Monday, December 22, follows a series of animal disease outbreaks in French livestock in recent years. Cattle herds have already had to contend with the emergence or return of several pathogens, such as epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) and bluetongue disease (BTV), the latter of which mainly impacts sheep, while poultry farms have faced a serious threat…