Europe is slaughtering millions of minks to curb the spread of COVID-19

• Minks around the world are infected with a mutated strain of the coronavirus.
• After hundreds of human coronavirus cases in Denmark were linked to animals, the government ordered the culling of the entire population of 17 million mink in early November.
• Some mink farmers and lawmakers protested the decision, demanding that farmers be compensated for the slaughter.
• Denmark is the world’s largest exporter of mink fur and many fear that this move could spell the end of the mink industry in Europe.
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Millions of minks could have COVID-19. And European authorities are slaughtering them for fear that they will spread a mutated strain of the virus to people.

In northern Greece it has already happened.

“We were informed by the breeder that he was positive after taking a test,” Theofilos Katzoglou, chief veterinarian for the Kozani region, told Reuters.

And also in Denmark, where hundreds of human mink-related infections cause farmers to fidget.

“We were told that we should have gassed all our minks,” farmer Hans Henrik Jeppesen told Reuters. “Now we have no crown on the farm, but the faster we can do it, the better.”

The culling order came from the Danish government in early November.

“We have chosen to take extensive and comprehensive measures in the current situation – cutting down 17 million mink, effectively shutting down the entire industry for now in Denmark,” Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said last month. “This is not a decision taken lightly, but it is a necessary precaution.”

But the decision was not entirely well received. Since then, hundreds of Danish mink farmers and ranchers have taken to the streets to protest, driving their tractors in front of government offices. The backlash has also come from some lawmakers, who argue that there was no legal basis for a nationwide slaughter order and that farmers should have been compensated first.

Denmark has been the world’s largest exporter of mink fur for decades, with thousands of employees in the sector. For many whose livelihoods depend on the global fur market, losing an entire mink population is devastating.

“I don’t know what I should say. It was hard for us not to have our pets,” Jeppesen said. “Every day we go out to check our animals, how they are, their health and all these things. That’s what we do every day. So it’s not fun. It’s not fun. It’s not fun.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen felt their pain during a visit to a family’s farm.

“We have two generations of really skilled mink farmers, father and son, who have had their life’s work shattered in a very, very short time,” he said. “And that – it was thrilling for them.”

Although the Danish health ministry recently said the virus detected in mink farms has likely been contained, the country is still deploying its armed forces to help eliminate all 17 million animals.

Denmark isn’t alone in sacrificing mink to protect humans from the coronavirus. The Netherlands, Spain and Ireland are also culling to curb epidemics, signaling what could be the beginning of the end of the mink business in Europe.