The mink ended up in mass graves for three reasons. Now the murder has sparked a political dishwashing in Denmark.

Was it voluntary or forced to kill all Danish minks? Now the minister has bad weather.

Denmark is considered the world’s largest producer of mink fur. While Norway has 40 mink farms, Denmark has between 1,100 and 1,200.

So it cost dearly when the Danish government gave mink farmers the following message a week ago: All minks must be culled due to corona infection. Up to 17 million animals were to leave.

It has gone fast in many places. Dead minks have been found along the roads. where trucks have taken dead animals. Danish TV2 has shown images of slaughter boxes that have been so full that not all minks have died, but they have been sent alive for destruction.

Now it turns out that he was also too fast on the turns when the government made the decision.

Blaming email errors

The Danish government did not have the legal basis to order the slaughter of all minks. It could only require mink farmers in risk areas to do so. In infection-free areas, killing should be just one call. But no one said that out loud.

On Wednesday, the country’s Food Minister, Mogens Jensen, had to defend himself at the Folketing. Jensen said he was unaware of the content of the email that the Danish Food Safety Authority, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, had sent to all mink farmers before the weekend, according to Danmarks Radio.

He said all minks should be killed. But the audit must have always known that it was illegal to demand the murder of everyone, writes Politiken.

The minister said he only realized the mistake this weekend. On Monday the text of the letter was changed. However, due to technical problems with the email system, the correct version was not sent until Tuesday, the minister explained. Now is the time to wash the dishes. Several opposition politicians have accused the minister of lying, writes Jyllands-Posten.

Believe it is right to kill everyone

Anyway, the starting point was serious. There is no doubt that the government still believes that all minks should be killed.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen acknowledges that mistakes have been made in the prosecution of the case. But he writes on Facebook that it’s about protecting public health.

Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut stated that there were three reasons why the spread of infection in mink farms was concerning:

• Despite persistent efforts to stop the spread of the infection, a corona infection was detected in 216 mink farms.
• The infection had spread to the surrounding community.
• A virus mutation found in mink could jeopardize a future covid-19 vaccine. Twelve people had been diagnosed with this mutated version.

Why the mink?

Corona infection has been detected in Denmark, the United States, and the Netherlands, all of which have large mink production. Why mink?

Animal species have different susceptibility to different types of viruses and bacteria. It involves both the animal and the infectious agent, explains veterinarian Hannah Joan Jørgensen of the Veterinary Institute. She is responsible for zoonoses, that is, infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.

The new coronavirus is adapted to humans, but both cats and marmots, like minks, can become infected. The cat is slightly affected by covid-19 and does not contribute to the spread of the infection.

“On the other hand, mink have been shown to be infected and the infection spreads relatively quickly from mink to mink in mink farms,” ​​writes Jørgensen.

Because mink is susceptible to the coronavirus, the virus manages to enter cells and use “the mink’s cellular machinery to produce new virus particles,” he writes.

Therefore an alarm sounded

The reason the alarm was sounded in Denmark were special virus mutations that were found in corona-infected minks. All viruses change, but a special change in the virus’s so-called “spike protein” raised concern.

The “spike protein” are the labels you see in illustrations of the virus. Several vaccines that are in development are trying to get the body’s immune system to recognize this protein and thereby stop the virus.

Jørgensen from the Veterinary Institute emphasizes that they are not sure about this, but that the Danes have chosen to be careful.

Infected by humans

Section chief and veterinarian Ole-Herman Tronerud of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority says the mink were most likely infected by humans and then infected with each other on mink farms.

– The risk of infection from mink to humans is not very well documented. The mutated virus may have been transmitted through humans to other people, Tronerud says.

Both the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Norwegian Veterinary Institute are closely monitoring what is happening in Denmark. To date, no corona infections have been detected in Norwegian mink farms and strict infection control measures have been implemented.

Tronerud says that there is a big difference between Norway and Denmark. Norwegian mink farms are getting smaller and smaller. They are more geographically dispersed. In addition, they had all the infection control measures in place when the coronavirus arrived in the country.

– We do not want to comment on the handling in Denmark. If there is an outbreak in Norway, there will be a discussion between the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the Norwegian Veterinary Institute about how it should be handled, says Tronerud.

Less and smaller

Guri Wormdahl, communications manager for the Norwegian Fur Animal Association, says there is a big difference between Norway and Denmark because Denmark has much bigger and bigger mink farms.

– Our farms are more dispersed, they are smaller, they have fewer animals and there are fewer that raise them. Larger farms have more people raising the animals, and therefore a higher risk of spreading the infection, says Wormdahl.

She says they react to various things that have come up in Denmark, both related to the actual murder and the process beforehand.

– It seems he has gone too fast in the turns, he says.