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Danish authorities have started the slaughter of around three million minks in an attempt to stop the spread of the mutated coronavirus in northern Denmark.
After a mutated coronavirus started spreading to mink in North Jutland in Denmark, authorities decided that all minks in the country should be killed. There are an estimated 15-17 million minks in all of Denmark.
– The massacre is planned and started in the seven northernmost municipalities, said National Police Chief Thorkild Fogde during a press conference on Friday.
He adds that there is talk of about three million minks in the seven municipalities.
– Currently, mink have been killed on 92 farms.
The Armed Forces, the Danish Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard are responsible for the slaughter of minks in the country.
TO BE KILLED: A mutated coronavirus has started to spread among minks in Denmark. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix
The virus has also been transmitted from mink to humans. According to Ekstrabladet, twelve cases of infection with the mutated virus, known as the group 5 variant of the coronavirus, have been identified, all in North Jutland.
Only in North Jutland
On Thursday, cases were reported in Midtsjælland, but Statens Seruminstitut department head Thyra Grove Krause rejected it during Friday’s press conference. According to Krause, there must have been an error in the handling of the corona samples, resulting in incorrect information.
Restrictions in the seven northern Jutland municipalities have been tightened as a result of the outbreak.
– Consideration for the people who live in the seven municipalities means that we have an absolute priority to eliminate the source of infection, says Fogde.
Difficult situation for mink farmers
The sheriff further states that the killing job is expected to be completed by the end of next week.
“We in the police and the national operative personnel, all the authorities, are very aware of the serious situation in which mink farmers and their families find themselves,” says Fogde.
– We have great compassion for people to whom it goes beyond.
During a virtual press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen also expressed her condolences to the fur industry.
– Lifetime work is lost, which in some cases has been inherited through several generations. It is a sad day for you and for everyone who works in the mining industry. The government is aware of this, Frederiksen said.
Five different versions of the virus
Fredriksen has justified the powerful move by saying that mink corona infection to humans may undermine the effect of a future vaccine.
Denmark’s National Serum Institute stated early Friday that they have found five different variations of the coronavirus in mink.
“From June until now, we have identified five different variations in the virus, and one of these variations, which we call ‘cluster five,’ has four different changes in protein spikes, Thyra Grove Krause said at the time.
– This protein is very important because it is what is used to enter cells, and many of the vaccines that are currently being developed are directed at this protein.
