Agricultural Show: competitions for cows canceled, “limited and symbolic” presence of cattle under discussion

Cows will be absent from the Agricultural Show (SIA) and competitions by decision of the selection bodies due to bovine dermatosis, we learned this Wednesday, January 7 from the organizers. But the latter still hope for a “limited and symbolic” presence of cattle.

The organizations which usually present cattle breeds such as the famous Charolais, Limousin and Prim’Holstein, have renounced the General Agricultural Competition, the main supplier of cattle for the show, the organizers indicated in a press release, specifying that the other animals will be present.

A few hours earlier on France Info, the Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard had said “hope” the presence of the animals at the Agricultural Show. “I read this morning that the Montbéliardes, my breed, will be present, just like the Charolais,” she added.

“There are areas free of disease, areas where the animals have been vaccinated”

But the epizootic of contagious lumpy skin disease seems to have got the better of the presence of hundreds of cows at the Agricultural Show. Animals present in restricted zones, in the South-West for example, will not be able to come to Paris, Annie Genevard said. “But there are areas free of disease, areas where the animals have been vaccinated. Perhaps the breeders will agree to come to the Show,” said the minister.

Dermatitis “constitutes a profound ordeal for the breeding sectors, for the women and men who carry them, and directly impacts the organization of the CGA”, write in their press release relayed by BFMTV the organizers of the International Agricultural Show. They express “all (their) understanding with regard to the breeders concerned”.

The SIA “has, for its part, always desired the presence of cattle and has done everything possible to make it possible, in strict compliance with the health conditions in force”, we can read.

“The SIA teams are continuing discussions with all stakeholders in order to study the conditions in which a presence of cattle, even limited and symbolic, could nevertheless be considered, via a limited number of animals, in a logic of adapted flexibility, fully compatible with health imperatives and the overall organization of the SIA”, specify the organizers.

Detected for the first time on June 29, 2025 in Savoie, the dermatosis spread in several departments, where 116 outbreaks and more than 3,000 cattle were slaughtered.