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Coronavirus has long been known to be found in mink, among other things. But it was when the Danish government received a report from the Danish Serum Institute that noted a risk of mutation when the infection is transmitted from mink to humans, that they acted in panic.
There was a sudden risk that a future vaccine would not be effective against a new virus. So the Danish government decided that all minks, healthy and sick, would be killed. An action that was not legal would result.
“Minkgate”
The decision to kill all the minks was made on November 4. On November 7, the responsible minister, Mogens Jensen, must have been informed that it was an illegal decision. Still, Mogens Jensen waited until November 10 before telling Danish mink farmers. It sent shockwaves all over Denmark. And it eventually led to the resignation of Mogens Jensen and Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen had to endure harsh criticism.
– Protesters have put up posters with Mette comparing her to a dictator. They compare it to the Nazis just because it took away their human rights. The leader of a liberal party said that this could possibly happen in Belarus. This is not something that is going to happen in Denmark and therefore must have consequences, says Jesper Zolck, a Danish journalist, in this week’s episode of the Foreign Office.
The world’s largest mink fur producer
Denmark is the world’s largest producer of mink fur. There are, or rather there were, about 1080 mink farms and more than 14 million minks in the country. Mink farmers were literally left with a business that was completely useless overnight.
Mink farming will also be prohibited until January 1, 2022 in Denmark. Kopenhagen Fur, which is the world’s largest mink fur trader, collectively owned by Danish mink farmers, says they have enough fur in stock to survive this year, and maybe even next year, but then they plan to liquidate completely. the company. An entire industry that is collapsing, an industry that just a few years ago was three times the size of the fishing industry in Denmark.
Many people are affected.
The opposition feels the wind in their sails
The opposition in Denmark, of course, has been quick to seize the situation and politician Rasmus Jarlov (Conservative People’s Party) calls it the biggest democracy scandal imaginable.
So far, the current minority government under Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen has had fairly broad support among Danes for its handling of the crown pandemic. But it seems that it will wither due to millions of dead minks.
This weekend, 800 tractors rolled through the streets of Copenhagen to protest the decision, and when they reached the port of Copenhagen, the fishermen stood in their boats and showed their support.
The prime minister so strong, that she thought she had everything under control, could fall under a little mink.
Look at the Foreign Office, which this week dives deep into that mink crisis, with a look from Denmark and only China. Do you watch the episode here on Playing SVT, or in SVT2 Wednesday 9:45 pm.
