Bovine dermatosis epidemic: despite vaccination, "we have a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads at all times"

Lined up in the barn, around forty Montbéliarde cows wait calmly. Only their brown-speckled heads peek out, blocked by the containment barriers usually designed to hold them in place during milking. Injection gun in hand, an unusual figure dressed in a blue jumpsuit advances towards each of them. The injection in the neck lasts only a fraction of a second, but the animals recoil slightly. "They don't like it too much, but it doesn't hurt them; they're mostly surprised," comments their farmer, Olivier Grillet, who lives a few kilometers from Lake Annecy, in Saint-Sylvestre (Haute-Savoie). A protective look towards his cows, startled by the veterinarian, and his shoulders finally relax. "This vaccination takes a weight off everyone."

Savoyard breeders have been eagerly awaiting this precious immunity for three weeks. On June 29, a new bovine disease, lumpy skin disease (LSD) , appeared on French soil – on this day