The government began taking summer measures to limit the spread of Kovid-19 on mink farms, but the number of cases increased dramatically in September.
In early October, Mink tested positive for Covid-19 on about 60 farms in North Jutland alone and another 46 were in the realm of suspicion, according to Mojens Jensen, the Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.
“We have launched a series of initiatives to manage and control the spread of the infection,” Jensen said in a statement. But, he added, “Given the recent large increase, we should unfortunately say that it is not enough to stop the continued spread of the infection in the mink herds of northern Jutland.”
The order is clear. Mink farms within five miles of a farm or herd that have been confirmed or suspected to be infected with the Covid-19, Javins said.
“The government has made a difficult decision, but we fully support it,” said Tage Pederson, president of the Danish Mink Breeders Association.
“In recent weeks, we have all experienced more and more farm infections in the North Zutland, and no one has been able to explain this growth. Human health must come first.”
The clearing process will be handled by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and the Danish Emergency Management Agency, and mink breeders will receive compensation for their operational losses, along with compensation for the damage they receive.
On October 9, it was reported that thousands of mink had died on fur farms in Utah and Wisconsin after the Covid-19 outbreak. The virus progresses rapidly in the mink, with most infected mink dying the next day. It is not clear why animals are susceptible to coronavirus when other animals are not affected.
CNN’s Cherry Mossberg and Brian Ray contributed to this report.
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