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Minks are a risk in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, so they must go. It’s that simple for the Danish government. But apparently she had no right to order the slaughter of all the animals.
The government-initiated mass slaughter of all minks on Danish fur farms is causing increasing confusion. Apparently there was no legal basis for the order. Food Minister Mogens Jensen admitted today on Danish television channel TV2: “We made a mistake.” There is no legal authority to ask mink farmers outside risk areas to slaughter their minks. I didn’t know when the announcement was made. However, he asked breeders to continue to do so with a public health view. The risk of mink farming remains.
Mass killing due to virus mutation
When the measure was announced last Wednesday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that all minks in Denmark should be killed to ensure that a mutation of the coronavirus that has occurred in the mink is contained. A communication from the Ministry of Environment and Food also said: “Based on a new risk assessment carried out by the health authorities, the government has decided to euthanize all Danish mink populations.” The fur farmers were offered a bonus payment if they slaughtered their animals within a few days.
Legal basis in the fast track process
As TV2 reports, the legal situation only covers infected mink farms and populations within a 7.8 kilometer radius. The government now wants to create the legal basis for a fast track procedure to kill healthy minks. The food authority has since apologized in a letter to Danish mink farmers. He regretted that a previous letter had not indicated that it was a “request” to kill healthy herds outside the 7.8 km zones as soon as possible.
In total, between 15 and 17 million minks are raised on fur farms in Denmark. During the studies, a mutated variant of the coronavirus was discovered in some animals. The virus variant was also detected in twelve people. Later, the Danish government ordered the slaughter of all minks to avoid further infection. The mutated virus could have devastating consequences around the world, it was said to justify. Among other things, the effectiveness of vaccines could be affected.
