[ad_1]
Caged minks have sad, bright eyes. They are surrounded by their excrement and can sometimes be heard screaming. The light in the sheds is practically absent and the smell must be terrible. The workers arrive who have to “take care of them”. They don’t wear masks, no gloves or protective glasses. In addition, despite the provisions of the recent circulars of the Ministry of Health (11 120 of May 14 and 16241 of July 21) for prevent the spread of Sars-Cov 2 on farms like these – At the entrance to the sheds there is no separation zone between the interior and the exterior where the operators must clean themselves with virucidal disinfectants and wear specific footwear for each area of the farm. We are in Italy on two mink farms in Lombardy, between October and November. And the images (which Messenger Service public preview) were released today by Lav.
The videos (which Lav will soon broadcast on his online channels in full version) show on the one hand the dramatic conditions of the farm mink: animals crammed into small wire mesh cages (where they are totally deprived of the ability to climb, dig or swim – the mink is actually a semi-aquatic animal), seriously injured animals, and even dead animals left in cages along with their own living counterparts. And on the other hand, they also show how, at least in this documented case, the operators violate biosecurity regulations with the aim of avoiding the introduction and then a possible release of the coronavirus on these farms. Lav highlights how the images released were also recorded in one of the farms where last August the first documented cases occurred in Italy of minks positive for coronavirus and, for this reason, subjected to special health surveillance.
“The safeguard public health, and specifically for this additional eventuality of the spread of the coronavirus through mink farms, it cannot depend on the will of farmers to respect the measures – underlines the Lav -. The Minister of Health Speranza and the presidents of the regions where the farms are located have the responsibility and power to close these true coronavirus reservoirs».
In Europe, between April and October, outbreaks were detected on more than 250 farms. There are eight mink farms in Italy: 3 in Lombardy in the provinces of Brescia and Cremona, 2 in Veneto in the provinces of Padua and Venice, 2 in Emilia romagna in the provinces of Forlì-Cesena and Ravenna, 1 in Abruzzo, in the province of L’Aquila. The mink population amounts to more 60 thousand animals that, every year, they are born between April and May and then they are killed, with gas, between December and January to obtain their fur.
For years, animal welfare organizations have been calling for close the remaining mink farms, in the first place to respect the rights of these animals that are slaughtered only for their fur. Lav recently launched an online petition to pressure the government. While Peta reiterates: “Fur farms are fertile ground for the spread of pandemics. Like mink farms in Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States, which have been subject to outbreaks, farms in Italy are full of sick, stressed and suffering animals living in unsanitary conditions, facilitating the spread of the illness. We invite Italy once again to follow in the footsteps of many European countries and close all farms.
Even in the rest of the world, the subject is debated a lot, especially now with the emergence of Covid. Many states in Europe have already banned the farming of “fur” animals.: United Kingdom, Austria, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Croatia, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland.
November 6, 2020 (change November 6, 2020 | 12:12)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
[ad_2]
