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COPENHAGEN: Millions of minks will be dug up from mass graves in Denmark after some have resurfaced, prompting complaints from residents about potential health risks, the country’s government said on Sunday (December 20).
In early November, the entire herd of about 17 million Danish minks destined for the high-end fashion industry was ordered to be euthanized after hundreds of farms suffered outbreaks of coronavirus and authorities found mutated strains of the virus among people. .
But of the four million minks hastily buried in a military area in western Denmark, some soon began to resurface from the sandy soil after gases from the decomposition process pushed the mink out of the ground.
Authorities said there was no risk of the graves spreading the coronavirus, but residents have complained of the potential risk of contaminating drinking water and a bathing lake less than 200 meters from mass graves.
READ: Mink mass graves in Denmark may have fouled groundwater
Denmark was the main exporter of mink to luxury fashion brands, with its furs in high demand due to high standards of reproduction.
On Sunday, the government won support in parliament to unearth the mink, the Food and Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
Work will only begin in May next year, when the risk of COVID-19 contamination from dead animals has been removed, the ministry said.
The animals will be trucked to nearby waste incinerators.
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