Denmark Orders Closure of Over 1,000 Mink Farms Over Fears of COVID Mutation

Over fears that a Covid mutation would endanger human health, Denmark ordered the closure of over 1,000 mink farms.

Most will never reopen after two years.

mink sheds abandoned to the pandemic

(Photo : MADS NISSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

Martin Merrild is raking up leaves. Behind him is a row of 20 large sheds, all of which are empty. His farm near Hjerm in West Jutland had 15,000 mink two years ago, a small carnivorous mammal bred in individual cages by farmers before being skinned for its fur, as per The Guardian.

Merrild's life had revolved around a yearly cycle since he began mink farming nearly 40 years ago. It would begin with a smaller number of female and male mink.

The females would be ready for breeding in early March, and Merrild and his team would only have a few weeks to find them a mate.

Mink the size of a thumb would be born starting in late April.

These would quickly grow to about seven to nine pounds or three to four kilograms over the summer. In November, they would be slaughtered and skinned for their fur, and the cycle would be repeated the following year.

More than 15 million mink were bred annually on farms like Merrild's across Denmark.

Denmark was the world's largest producer of mink fur, producing 40% of the world's supply at one point, which was mostly exported to Asia.

However, the industry came to a halt on November 4, when Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced the culling of the country's entire farmed mink herd: 15 million animals.

Twelve people had become infected with a Covid-19 mutation that originated in mink, and Frederiksen feared the mutation could jeopardize future vaccines if left unchecked.

Veterinary officials arrived soon after the announcement to kill Merrild's animals.

Since then, his sheds have remained mostly untouched.

A half-hour south of Merrild's farm is a cluster of large warehouses emblazoned with a mink image.

They work for a company that feeds 3 million mink across the region, trucking hundreds of tonnes of feed to farms every day during the peak summer months.

Over 1,000 former mink farmers, including Merrild, are still awaiting the outcome of their compensation claims. They are farming ghosts because they are unable to dismantle their barns.

Aase Rask was worried about her husband, Ejner, who was 68 at the time after his mink were taken away and killed.

He hadn't known anything else since the early 1980s when their son was preparing to take over the farm near Holstebro, West Jutland.

They see few viable options for making the farm profitable, and their son is now attempting to forge a career in machinery.

Following an official investigation, the Danish government recently agreed to allow mink farming to resume.

Even though there were Covid outbreaks in farmed mink all over the world, Denmark was the only country to order a mass cull and shut down its industry.

However, many of the 5,000-plus veterinarians, feed manufacturers, auctioneers, and advisers involved have moved on, with only a handful of farmers expected to pick up where they left off after two years.

Also Read: Spain and Netherlands Cull Over One Million Mink Due to COVID-19 Infection

Denmark's ban on mink production to be lifted

Denmark's government announced on Friday that a temporary ban on mink breeding would be lifted on January 1, allowing mink production to resume, albeit at a "significantly reduced" level compared to before the coronavirus pandemic, as per The Manila Times.

The government ordered a cull of millions of minks and banned their farming nearly two years ago to reduce the risk of the small mammals retransmitting a mutated version of the virus that could spread to humans.

The ban was supposed to expire at the end of 2021, but it was extended for another year, on the first day month of January.

It will once again be legal to keep mink in Denmark.

It was unclear whether there would be a limit on the number of animals on each farm.

The number of people permitted to visit farms will be limited, and farmers will be required to register the names of visitors.

According to the Environment and Food Ministry, health officials now believe that "resuming significantly reduced mink production and implementing infection prevention measures poses a limited risk to public health."

Rasmus Prehn, Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries, and institute officials planned to meet with representatives of the Danish mink industry on Friday to review infection prevention measures for the industry.

According to the government, veterinary and health authorities have developed a model with requirements for handling Covid-19 in mink herds that breeders must implement and follow to be able to keep mink after the new year.

"There are no good reasons to reopen large mink farms with millions of animals crammed in small wire cages until they are slaughtered for their fur," said Britta Riis, head of Animal Protection Denmark. "It is detrimental to animals, the environment, and the climate."

Related article: Mink Workers Infected With Coronavirus First Known Cases of Animal-Human Transmission