Denmark To Cull 17 Million Mink As COVID Mutation Found On Fur Farms
“Worst case scenario is a new pandemic, starting all over again out of Denmark”, experts warn.
Mink on a fur farm. Sweden, 2010. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media + Djurrättsalliansen
Denmark is racing to cull its entire mink population after scientists discovered a mutation of the coronavirus found in the animals has passed to humans.
Health authorities report that the mutated virus shows decreased sensitivity against antibodies, which could potentially affect the success of future vaccines.
“The worst case scenario is a new pandemic, starting all over again out of Denmark,” Kare Molbak, director of Denmark’s infectious diseases authority, told Reuters.
As a result, up to 17 million mink will now be killed under the new plans. The huge cull will temporarily wipe out the country’s mink fur production, which is the largest in the world.
“We have a great responsibility towards our own population, but with the mutation that has now been found, we have an even greater responsibility for the rest of the world as well,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Reuters reports.
These latest findings in Denmark are a stark reminder of the risks to human health that are posed by farming animals: more than 6 out of every 10 known infectious diseases in people can be spread from animals, and 3 out of every 4 new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Infectious disease experts are now leading the call for other mink fur-producing countries to follow Denmark’s lead and immediately stop mink fur production and cull their herds.
“China, Denmark, and Poland should support and extend the immediate and complete ban of mink production,” Christian Sonne, professor of Veterinary and Wildlife Medicine at Aarhus University, told Reuters.
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