Farmers in southwestern France blocked roads and set fire to bales of hay Saturday to protest the culling of cows due to a skin disease, as the government said one million cattle would be vaccinated.

French farmers have been angry over what they see as the government's heavy-handed response to an outbreak of nodular dermatitis, widely known as lumpy skin disease.

On Friday, veterinarians slaughtered a herd of more than 200 cows in the village of Les Bordes-sur-Arize near the Spanish border after discovering a single case of the sickness. Police had to disperse angry farmers as they escorted in a team to carry out the culling.

Several unions have said that slaughtering whole herds is ineffective, calling for blockades across France "to put an end to this madness".

On Saturday, dozens of

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