Denmark Is Culling Minks

 

DENMARK

The Culling

Danish lawmakers approved a decision to cull the country’s 15 million minks over concerns that a mutated version of the coronavirus is spreading among the animals and to humans, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The legislation would allow for the culling of all minks, including those outside of northern Denmark where infections have been found.

The mutated version discovered in infected minks can be transmitted to people but there is still no evidence that it is more dangerous or resistant to vaccines.

The Danish government reported that more than 280 farms have recorded infections and 265 have culled their animals. They added that more than 200 people working in six mink pelting companies have tested positive for the virus.

There are more than 1,100 mink farms in Denmark that employ about 6,000 people. Denmark accounts for 40 percent of global mink fur production and is the world’s biggest exporter, with most products going to China.