Il Nuovo Postiglione - French forces use tear gas to clear protesters protecting condemned cows

Farmers have staged protests in several parts of France in recent days, accusing the authorities of not doing enough to support them.

Hundreds of agricultural workers have demonstrated for two days outside the farm in the southern area of Ariege near the Spanish border.

They set up a cordon around the farm after the authorities on Wednesday said that more than 200 Blonde d'Aquitaine cows at the farm had nodular dermatitis -- widely known as lumpy skin disease -- and would have to be euthanised.

Gendarmes used tear gas late Thursday to fight their way past dozens of farmers who stayed after nightfall to blockade the farm in the village of Les Bordes-sur-Arize, while protesters hurled stones, branches and other makeshift missiles as hay bales burnt in the background.

Four people were arrested, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.

Several farmers and supporters had earlier chopped down trees and set up barricades to stop veterinary staff from entering to carry out the killing.

Regional prefect Herve Brabant said that the brothers who owned the farm had agreed to have the herd slaughtered in line with precautions against the disease.

But Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal, of the local Rural Confederation union leading the protest, said one brother had agreed and one was opposed.

"They are tearing this family apart," he said.

- 'In shock' -

Marina Verge, 33, the daughter of one of the owners, on Wednesday told AFP that killing the cows amounted to destroying "almost 40 years" of their life's work.

"They're in shock, it's unimaginable. They didn't expect it," she said.

"You don't imagine finding yourself without livestock overnight."

Other cases have also been detected in the region and some 3,000 of the 33,000 cattle in Ariege have already been vaccinated.

Lumpy skin disease, which cannot be passed to humans but can be fatal for cattle, first appeared in France in June. French authorities insist the outbreak is under control and that they are preparing a mass vaccination programme.

The World Organisation for Animal Health says that cases have also been reported in Italy this year.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, the disease is present in many African countries.

In 2012, it spread from the Middle East to Greece, Bulgaria and the Balkans. A vaccination programme halted that epidemic.

E.Accardi--INP