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In early November, Denmark announced it would euthanize the country’s more than 15 million minks after a mutated version of the new coronavirus was discovered and believed to jeopardize the effectiveness of future vaccines.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reacts when meeting with journalists after visiting a closed and empty mink farm near Kolding, Denmark, on November 26, 2020. Image: AFP.
Copenhagen – Wiping away tears, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen personally apologized Thursday for handling a crisis in which a mutated version of the novel coronavirus led the government to euthanize millions of farm-raised minks.
The head of government was visiting a mink farmer in Kolding municipality, whose animals were euthanized despite being healthy, although it was later shown that the government had no legal right to do so.
“I have no problem apologizing for the course of events, because mistakes have been made,” Frederiksen told TV2 broadcaster.
Visibly excited Frederiksen stopped several times to wipe his tears, stressing that it was important to remember that it was not the breeders’ fault.
“It’s for the crown, and I hope it can be a little light in the dark at this point for Danish mink farmers,” he said.
In early November, Denmark, which is the world’s largest exporter of mink fur, announced that it would euthanize the country’s more than 15 million minks after a mutated version of the new coronavirus was discovered and believed to endanger the efficacy of future vaccines.
However, a few days later the government acknowledged that it did not have sufficient legal basis to order the measure.
Agriculture Minister Mogens Jensen apologized and finally resigned last week.
Following Jensen’s resignation, the Health Ministry concluded that the potential threat to human vaccines was “most likely extinct”, in the absence of new cases of the mutated version.
At the latest count, more than two-thirds of the estimated 15-17 million minks in the country have already been culled.
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