The slaughter of minks in Denmark to prevent the spread of a potentially dangerous new strain of the coronavirus has sparked a political crisis in the country, with the Minister of Agriculture being forced to resign and the government threatened with collapse.
The cull has led to a political crisis in Denmark. Right-wing parties accused the government of using the pandemic to end mink farming in the country. Denmark is home to some of the largest mink farms in the world, with an estimated population of more than 15 million.
Opposition is calling on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to resign after a hasty decision was made to kill the animals after it was discovered that a mutated strain of the virus made the leap from animals to humans.
Danish health officials were alarmed because a number of mutations – that had infected at least 12 people – could affect the effectiveness of a potential coronavirus vaccine.
The mutation affected the spike protein in the virus – something many potential vaccines target. Laboratory studies, while inconclusive, indicated that cells with this variant of the virus were not as potent against antibodies as other variants of the coronavirus.
Minks – which are part of the weasel family – are valued for their fur and kept in crowded conditions ideal for the virus to spread. Unlike other animals, including cats and dogs, mink can get quite sick and die. Outbreaks in mink populations have also been infected in other countries, including the United States and the Netherlands.
“The mink farms are a reservoir where the coronavirus thrives,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, Regional Director of the World Health Organization for Europe, on Thursday.
The mutation, found in Denmark, has not been found in any other mink population in Europe and the 12 human cases reported to the WHO in September remain the only cases reported. Still, biosecurity needs to be strengthened in mink farms, officials said.
Dr. Kluge also commended Denmark for its work in tracking the genomic sequencing of the virus in about 14 percent of Covid-19 patients in the country and for making this information public.
Last week, mink was found to have coronavirus on at least two farms in northern Greece and the WHO said it was working with local health authorities to assess the situation.
When Mrs. Frederiksen ordered the killing of all animals in Denmark two weeks ago, the military had to intervene to support the country’s 1,100 mink farmers with the slaughter.
Agriculture Minister Mogens Jensen condemned the government’s swift action, saying that it had no legal basis to kill the animals and destroy industry.
On Thursday, a Danish newspaper, BT, reported that Mr Jensen and five other ministers had warned in September that culling beyond the infected areas was illegal.
The carnage stopped in the middle of the effort and the focus shifted to culling mink just near the outbreak linked to the mutated strain of the virus.
But Mr Jensen had already lost government support and had to resign.
The eradication of the mink was achieved through widespread public backlash. A study by Aarhus University found that support for the government has fallen by 20 percent.
The Danish authorities announced on Wednesday that mink had been killed on all farms known to be infected.
But they added that another 25 farms are still suspected of being infected.
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