MILLIONS OF MINK HAVE BEEN CULLED (SLAUGHTERED)

        MILLIONS OF MINK HAVE BEEN CULLED (SLAUGHTERED)

The photographs on the BBC website are very upsetting. The headline tries to explain them: Coronavirus: Denmark shaken by cull (killing) of millions of mink.

Last week Denmark decided to cull all its mink because of the spread of coronavirus. That meant up to 17 million animals would be killed.

The article by Adrienne Murray in Denmark said 2.85 million mink out of a population of 17 million in Denmark have been culled. Now “mass graves have appeared in the Danish countryside filled with the slaughtered animals.” 

“Covid 19 originally came from a wild animal. It was then transmitted to humans and later passed on to farmed mink before jumping back to a small number of humans.”

“Several different mutations have been discovered in the virus in mink that do not arise in humans. But one called Cluster 5 is of particular concern and 12 people are known to have caught it in Denmark. More than 200 people have contracted other mink-related strains of the virus.” Murray explains in the article.

Patient antibodies responded less well to Cluster 5 so further laboratory tests are being done, Professor Anders Fomsgaard head of virus research at Statens Serum Institute (SSI) said. “We are working to find out if this has any biological effects and vaccine issues. We have to look into it immediately.”

The nationwide cull (killing) is a disaster. There are more than 1,000 mink farms in Denmark. The mink are usually killed at this time of the year for their fur. Chairman of Kopenhagen Fur Tage Pederson said some 6,000 jobs could be affected. In 2018-19 the industry had a reported turnover of almost $1bn.

Danish Animal Rights groups feel it is time to follow the example of other European nations like the UK and Austria, that have banned fur production.  Germany phased it out.  Belgium, France, and Norway plan to phase out as well.

There are now some 4350 mink farms across Europe. 

Adrienne Murray quotes Birgitte Iversen Damm, veterinarian and chief consultant for agricultural animals and mink, as saying: “It is highly unacceptable to treat animals the way they are treated in the industry.” 

Earlier this week (November 9) BBC Environment correspondent Helen Briggs wrote “Mutations in coronavirus have triggered culls of millions of farmed mink in Denmark.

“More than 50 million mink a year are bred for their fur mainly in China, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland. Outbreaks have been reported on fur farms in the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, and the USA. And millions of animals have had to be culled (slaughtered).”

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