Denmark will cull entire mink population after COVID-19 outbreaks
Photo by Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty Images
Denmark plans to cull up to 17 million mink, the country’s entire population, after reports that the animals could pass a coronavirus mutation to humans. The announcement came from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a press conference, and there are currently no published scientific reports on the mutation or its effects.
The virus has been found at over 200 mink farms in Denmark, which produces most of the world’s mink fur. Over a million animals were already culled on Danish farms in October. This summer, about 100,000 mink were culled in Spain after similar outbreaks. Outbreaks on mink farms in Utah killed thousands of animals.
Denmark’s announcement comes after 12 people in the country were found to be infected with a type of the...