Essex animal law expert shares research with French Senate

Research from the University of Essex has reached the heart of French policymaking, with an animal law expert invited to present her work at the French Senate.

Dr Eugenie Duval, from Essex Law School, spoke about the legal framework behind livestock culling policies during outbreaks of animal disease.

The conference – Livestock and Animal Epidemics: A Global Health Challenge and the Resilience of Agricultural Systems – brought together academics, elected representatives, farmers and other stakeholders to discuss the management of animal disease outbreaks.

Aspects of Dr Duval’s research focuses on the legal frameworks governing so-called “depopulation” measures, where all animals in a herd or epidemiological unit are killed after a disease outbreak, regardless of whether every individual animal is infected.

This work builds on a consultancy project carried out with colleagues in 2022 for an EU parliamentary group following a case in the French region of Haute-Savoie, where a farm’s entire herd was slaughtered after a single case of bovine brucellosis was detected.

The team analysed the legislation governing the disease and carried out a comparative study across all 27 EU member states.

Their report recommended reforms to French law that would move away from mandatory whole-herd depopulation towards a more selective approach to disease control.

Dr Duval said: “Together with my colleague, we presented our research on the legal framework governing depopulation decisions, drawing on cases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza, brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis.

“Our work highlights the need for less drastic approaches and broader systemic reforms in livestock management. We emphasised giving local authorities greater flexibility in choosing sanitary measures and reserving depopulation for cases where it is strictly necessary, based on a rigorous proportionality assessment.”

Feedback from senators and other participants was positive, with discussions exploring the legal, scientific, social and ethical consequences of disease control policies.

The event has already opened further opportunities to share the research with policymakers.

Dr Duval will present her work later this month to experts at the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), which is currently examining recommending depopulation policies and considering a shift towards a more selective approach.

Reflecting on the experience, Dr Duval said opportunities for academics to engage directly with policymakers are vital.

She added: “Platforms like this are crucial because they allow evidence-based research to inform legislative and regulatory decisions, helping to bridge the gap between academia and policy.”