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From: TT
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Photograph: Mette Moerk / Ritzau / TT
Killing mink in Denmark. Stock Photography.
All minks must be killed, according to the Danish government, but the authorities still don’t have the law on their side. Shocking and furious industry representatives.
During the fall, minks have been euthanized in Denmark as a result of coronavirus outbreaks that have mutated into minks and spread to humans. The variant considered the most serious, group 5, has been discovered in five mink farms in North Jutland and infected twelve people.
This prompted Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to announce Wednesday that all of Denmark’s minks will be killed within ten days. Their motivation was that a mutation carries the risk that future vaccines will not work properly.
There are around twelve million minks in Denmark.
Invoices are sent
But despite the government’s decision, the authorities have no right to have access to mink farms to kill animals in the rest of Denmark where there have been no cases of viruses. For them to be able to enforce it, viruses must have been detected among the animals or the farm must be located in an area with a confirmed outbreak, Berlingske writes.
But there are proposals to change the law, it will be presented on Tuesday and will be processed urgently, the Environment Ministry tells the newspaper.
The fact that there is currently no legal backing for the dramatic mass slaughter has shocked mink farmers, according to Tage Pedersen, president of Danske Minkavlere.
“Mink farmers across the country have been treated completely like crazy in recent months and the uncertainty has been great and now this is adding to everything,” he writes.
“What to expect, there is no control at all?”
“Scandalous”
Several opposition parties are also outraged.
– It is very remarkable that you do not have the legal basis to order mink farmers to kill their animals and close their farm, says Per Larsen of the Conservatives to the Ritzau news agency.
– It is scandalous to start such a process.
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