Farmers across France have blocked highways and dumped manure near government buildings as they protest the planned vaccination of one million cattle against lumpy skin disease.

Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard stated, “We will vaccinate nearly one million animals in the coming weeks and protect farmers. I want to reiterate that the state will stand by affected farmers, their losses will be compensated as well as their operating losses.”

French authorities have ordered massive culls following several reported outbreaks of lumpy skin disease, a condition that cannot be transmitted to humans but can be fatal for cattle. The disease first appeared in France in June.

The government’s strategy to combat the disease has been to kill all animals in affected herds and conduct “emergency vaccination” for cattle within a 50-kilometer (30-mile) radius.

Several unions have criticized this approach as ineffective. On Friday, the left-wing Confédération paysanne described it as “more scary than the illness itself,” urging an end to the culls and more vaccinations. The union called for “blockades across France to put an end to this madness.”

However, officials have maintained their stance. Minister Genevard stated that “to save the entire industry, slaughter is the only solution.”

Protests intensified on Saturday when farmers blocked toll entrances and exits on the A64 motorway in Hautes-Pyrenees and dumped manure near government buildings in Tarbes, disrupting vaccination efforts.

The government, backed by the main FNSEA farming union, insists that culling infected herds is necessary to prevent further spread and avoid export bans that could devastate the sector. In contrast, the rival union Coordination Rurale opposes systematic culling, advocating for targeted measures and quarantine protocols.

Leon Thierry, co-president of CR in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, stated: “There is no question of culling animals in the Pyrenees that are not sick and are healthy, simply because they belong to a herd from which a supposedly sick animal came.”