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The country’s farmed mink population will be wiped out for fear of further spread of Covid-19 via a variant strain of the virus after a mutated form of the virus was detected at a Danish mink farm.
Medical director Dr. Tony Holohan is understood to have written to the Agriculture Department’s chief veterinarian in recent days describing his concerns about a variant strain of Covid in mink, which he fears could pose a “significant” continuing risk. for public health if this strain would become the dominant strain.
It occurs when more than 2,000 people have died from Covid and pharmaceutical companies report positive results from vaccine trials.
There are three remaining mink farms in Ireland, home to around 120,000 mink, located in Donegal, Laois and Kerry and it is understood that all three farms will be able to skin or remove the skin from their mink, but no more mink farming. it can take place on farms.
A statement from the Department of Agriculture said: “The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine has been working closely with public health authorities as well as mink farm operators in Ireland to address any potential risks arising as a result. Covid -19.
“The mink farmers continue to operate in full compliance with all legislative and animal welfare requirements and have fully cooperated with these efforts. Mink herd testing in Ireland has not detected positive results for Covid-19 to date.
“The Department of Health has indicated that continuous mink farming represents a continuing risk of additional variants of SARS-CoV-2 adapted to mink emerging and has therefore recommended that Irish farmed mink be phased out to minimize or eliminate this risk. .
“The Department of Agriculture continues to work with mink farmers to consider next steps.”
Mink farming was to be discontinued under the Government Program and the Department of Agriculture had planned to conduct mink tests on all three mink farms in the country to see if the virus was present, but the call from the medical director is understood to have accelerated this measure. .
Last week Veterinary Ireland called for the culling of the country’s mink population “as soon as possible” after a Covid mutation was detected in Denmark.
Veterinary Ireland spokesman Dr Mark Dalton said that the fact that a coronavirus mutation has been found in mink in Denmark only adds to the need to shut down Irish mink farms.
The Danish agriculture minister resigned this week over the country’s handling of the situation and an illegal government order to euthanize the country’s farmed mink population. Denmark is one of the largest mink producers in the world and is home to 17 million minks.
Online editors
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