Denmark is to kill off 17 million mink in a bid to stop the spread of a new mutated form of the coronavirus. The move comes after coronavirus has been found in mink both in Denmark and across the world, and experts fear that the mutated strain may not be stopped by the vaccines that have so far been designed to stop the current strain.
More than 1,000 mink farms are affected by the cull. On these farms, the mink are bred for their fur and then shipped to China and Hong Kong to produce clothing. Spain and the Netherlands have also reported coronavirus outbreaks on mink farms and have enacted their own, albeit smaller, culls.
It is thought that in Denmark, a sizeable number of people working at the mink farms have been infected with the new strain of the virus and a number of countries have now banned entry from those travelling from the country.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement:
"We have a great responsibility towards our own population, but with the mutation that has now been found, we have an even greater responsibility for the rest of the world as well."
"The mutated virus in minks could pose a risk that future vaccines won't work as they should. It risks being spread from Denmark to other countries. The eyes of the world are on us."
The worry is that the vaccines being produced, one of which has already been shown to be effective, are designed to stop the current strain of the virus and may not work on the mink strain.
It is believed that the original CoVid-19 strain that has turned the world upside down, killed well over a million people and, likely infected hundreds of millions of others began when it was passed from an animal, perhaps a bat or a pangolin, to a human in a Chinese wet-market in Wuhan.
Every year worldwide, 50 million mink are bred for their fur. They are killed, skinned, and then used to make expensive clothing. They are often held in terrible conditions in mink farms in tight cages with no space to move. The cramped conditions also lead to the spread of disease. The mink are also used to make fashion accessories such as fake eyelashes. Animal rights groups have long campaigned against the farming of mink and it is hoped that these latest events will see the industry stopped in the long-term.
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