Mink fur of Denmark is exclusively auctioned through Kopenhagen Fur. Denmark's mink farmers are mourning what they say is the death of their industry after a government order to cull all of their stocks over a mutated variant of the new coronavirus. “The easiest way to get rid of a problem is to get rid of the problem,” Weese said, “but that’s not always the best way.”. By 25 November, mink on all 289 affected mink farms, and farms within an assigned zone, were culled. After undercover footage from the largest farm in Poland was released to the public, Poland is in the process of banning fur farming. Mink breeder Thorbjoern Jepsen holds up a mink, as police forcibly gained access to his mink farm in Gjoel, Denmark, on Oct. 9, 2020. [11], In November 2020, a mutated strain of COVID-19 was found in the animals necessitating the government to cull seventeen million mink because of a fear that they could be the catalyst for restarting the international pandemic. Opponents say the eradication of all healthy mink was a breach of the Danish constitution. Mink carcasses are disposed of at a farm in Farre in the southern part of Jutland, Denmark Read More Related Articles. “The other area to be concerned about is having this virus spill into an animal host that becomes a regional or local reservoir for viral infections,” Runstadler said. Part of the problem, he explained, is that we don’t know the effects of the spread. Denmark's parliament on Monday passed a law banning the keeping of minks for a year, following the country's controversial cull of all minks over a mutated strain of the novel coronavirus. Data from animal rights group Humane Society International puts Denmark as the worldâs second-largest exporter of mink fur, behind China. If the animal isn’t a common pet or an endangered zoo animal, there’s less outrage when it’s killed. The culling of at least 2.5 million minks in northern Denmark has started, authorities said Monday after the coronavirus has ⦠In the United States as of 2020, there are some 120 mink farms producing 2 million pelts a year, with a farm-gate value of US$80 million. [11] Though the country has some of the largest mink farms in the world, it also has many small business mink farms run by families. Still, “we’re definitely concerned,” Hoffman said, adding farmers are recommended to interact with mink the way they would humans during a pandemic: wearing proper PPE and keeping their distance. As a result of Covid-19-related culls of mink in Denmark and the Netherlands, China could take over as the worldâs top mink ⦠[19] Using information technology, management, control, breeding and analysis can monitor genetic progress of the mink herd.[17]. Mink are seen at the farm of Henrik Nordgaard Hansen and Ann-Mona Kulsoe Larsen near Naestved, Denmark on Nov. 6, 2020. There is also some worry that a mutated form of the virus, given to humans by minks, could make it more difficult to implement an effective vaccine. Denmark, the world's largest mink fur producer, is to mass cull some 16 -17 million minks after mutated forms of coronavirus spread to humans. Auctions are held five times in a year, with the first held in December after the newly pelted skins are ready, and the last in September. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Animal Protection Denmark, an advocacy group, recommended a long-term solution to the problem of mink and coronavirus: âThe right decision would be to end mink farming ⦠“Transmission back to people is more a concern at a personal level,” Weese said. Economic support packages have ⦠Fish waste from the fishing industryis used as feed at mink farms. Like every other fur farmer in Denmark, he has 10 days to kill his mink. Concerted efforts of Kopenhagen Fur and Danish Animal Welfare Society (Dyrenes Beskyttelse), have optimized the environmental conditions for mink farming by developing rules, which received approval by the Ministry of Justice in 2007. An excavator dumps dead mink into a ditch earlier this month. Economic support packages have been established for those affected. The government recommends mink farmers continue with the cull, but they are not required to do so until legislation that will be put forward soon is passed. [4], Left: A typical mink farm layout in 1908. [21] Fashion house Birger Christensen, purveyor to the Danish royal family, is "the finest furrier in Copenhagen" and sells only Saga Royal grade fur. Denmark has announced a complete cull of all mink on Danish farms - a total of up to 17 million animals - due to spiralling Covid-19 infections. Byrne called the farms a “recipe for a disaster” in a pandemic, stressing fur farms put humans at risk, too. Facing calls for resignation from the parliamentary opposition and sharp public criticism,[13] Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen acknowledged that the order to cull all minks was illegal, and Jensen resigned on November 18. Kopenhagen Fur, located in Copenhagen, is the world's largest fur auction house; annually, it sells approximately 14 million Danish mink skins produced by 2,000 Danish fur farmers, and 7 million mink skins produced in other countries. COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The Danish government said Tuesday it wants to ban mink farming until the end of 2021, as it presented a law proposal that ⦠[12], It was revealed in late November that the Minister for Agriculture, Mogens Jensen, and five other ministers had been made aware in September that the culling of the entire country's mink population, rather than just those in the infected areas, would be illegal. mink farms in the U.S. are seeing Covid-19, Covid mink farm outbreaks brew controversy in the scientific community, tearing up as she called it a “regrettable mistake”. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen apologized for the killing, tearing up as she called it a “regrettable mistake” and admitting the government did not have the legal jurisdiction to cull so many animals. By Ole Jensen/Getty Images. COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The Danish government said Tuesday it wants to ban mink farming until the end of 2021, as it presented a law proposal that ⦠The small, ferret-like mammals farmed for their valuable fur have raised alarm after contracting and mutating the coronavirus, passing it back to humans. Denmark will cull about 17 million mink after a mutated form of coronavirus that can spread to humans was found on mink farms. But many dangerous types of animal farming ⦠Most of its exports go to China and Hong Kong. Denmark is the worldâs most prolific producer of mink pelts: with between 15 and 17 million of the animals housed in more than 1,000 mink farms when the cull was announced (meaning the mink population is at least treble that of Denmarkâs human one). The cases ranged in age from 7 to 79 years, and eight had a link to the mink farming industry and four cases were from the local community. Denmark's mink farmers are mourning what they say is the death of their industry after a government order to cull all of their stocks over a mutated variant of the new coronavirus. Why are minks farmed in Denmark? For animal rights groups, the debacle illustrates why fur farming should be eliminated. Minks that catch Covid-19 are sometimes spreading a mutated form of the virus back to humans. “There is still some debate over whether it's a relevant change, and there’s not a clear answer on that,” Weese said. Today, more than 45% of the global market is produced or processed in Denmark. [1][2] Ranked third in Denmark's agricultural export items of animal origin, fur and mink skins have a yearly export value of about EUR 0,5 billion. Culling is often the answer when data on animal spread is inconclusive. When outbreaks occur at farms, local health departments are mandating quarantines. The mutations in Danish mink, ... Before the pandemic, the Netherlands was already in the process of stopping intensive mink farming. Danish mink farming has played a leading role in promoting animal welfare, and this included the first guidelines for fur animal research in 1985 at a time when no welfare rules existed for any other type of livestock farming. Nesting boxes are attached inside the cage. âItâs horrible. They need to stick onto something. Danish research played a vital role in the creation of a new set of European rules to protect fur animals launched in 1999. We know Covid-19 came from an animal host, and spilled into humans recently, said Jonathan Runstadler, professor in the department of infectious disease and global health at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The minks are farmed for their fur, which is then used for various purposes, including coats, clothing and ⦠Demand is there, and need for the product is there. Morten Stricker / Ritzau Scanpix via AFP - Getty Images file. Buried in shallow pits and trenches in Western Denmark, the dead minks were pushed out of the ground by gas emitted from their decomposing bodies, leading to more outrage and concern. “I worry we are not doing enough to monitor that situation to make sure this virus isn’t spilling into the animal populations,” Runstadler said. The culling began late last month, after many mink cases were detected. Runstadler said it’s hard to know if minks are unique among other species in their ability to contract and spread the virus, or if they’re just in a situation that leads to such outbreaks. Things happen.” he said. Denmark needs to follow their lead and put an end to fur farming! Hoffman said the outbreaks are under control. It says ⦠“With furs, if it’s not made one place, it’s made some place else. “This will end our business.”. Fur farming is the practice of breeding or raising certain types of animals for their fur.. “These Covid-19 outbreaks and the grisly circumstances that have gone along with them in the mink industry are just more evidence that the fur industry needs to be finished.”. And across the Atlantic, mink farms in the U.S. are seeing Covid-19 spread and deaths of their own. An excavator dumps dead mink into a ditch earlier this month. Mads Claus Rasmussen / AFP - Getty Images file. Denmark has reported 214 human cases linked to mink farms, of which 12 are thought to be of cluster 5. Stampeâs company sells fur coats wholesale to outlets in Europe, the ⦠But Marc Kaufman, a fur merchant in New York City who sells a lot of mink coats, said there is no reason for his industry to worry about the outbreaks. The mink industry in Denmark produces 40 percent of the world's pelts, making Denmark the largest producer of mink skins in the world. Right: Mink breeder with a young pearl mink, "FACTS: Denmark is the world's largest producer of mink fur", "Denmark says it will cull 17 million mink after discovering a mutated strain of COVID-19 that officials fear could 'restart' the entire global pandemic", "Ny corona-mutation er en kæp i hjulet pÃ¥ vaccinen: Det ved vi om 'cluster 5, "Methods for the identification of farm escapees in feral mink (, "The culling of minks in Denmark prompts a political crisis", "Danish Agriculture Minister Resigns Amid Criticism For Ordering Mink Cull", "Danish farm minister quits over mink scandal", "Danish lawmakers ban mink farming until 2022 amid coronavirus outbreak | DW | 21.12.2020", "Danish mink industry toasts a Chinese chill", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mink_industry_in_Denmark&oldid=995573244, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 21 December 2020, at 20:01. Kopenhagen Fur, a cooperative of 1,500 Danish breeders, accounts for ⦠Each auction typically sells some 260 million euro worth of fur and lasts five days. Mink farm owner Stig Sørensen in Bording, Denmark. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) â The Danish government said Tuesday it wants to ban mink farming until the end of 2021, as it presented a law proposal that would allow for the culling of 15 million minks as announced last week. Plus, people don’t have the close attachment to minks they might dogs. Four were found in the local community, rather than ⦠[9] In 1983, it produced 8.3 million pelts, amounting to 22 percent of world production, and in 2002, it produced 12.2 million pelts, representing nearly 40 percent of world production. Runstadler, who studies emerging diseases in animals, said the outbreak in minks hasn’t surprised many in his field, in part because of the conditions in which they live. Spain, Sweden, Italy, and the US have ⦠[5] The new mutation is known as "cluster 5". [16], Climatic conditions in Denmark, where the winter is mild and the summer is cool, are considered ideal for husbanding animals with fur cover. At fur farms, scientists have seen Covid-19 transfer from minks to cats through mink manure, and are worried about what would happen if it gets into wildlife populations. This has an annual export value of EUR 1,1 billion. A mutated form of the coronavirus has been found on around 200 of the country's mink farms, which total over 1,100 in number. [6] In November 2020, the Danish government announced that all remaining mink in Denmark would be culled by 16 November 2020. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) â The Danish government said Tuesday it wants to ban mink farming until the end of 2021, as it presented a law proposal that ⦠Still, we don’t know much about how it works in minks or other animals, in part because scientists have been busy trying to figure out how Covid-19 affects humans. Thousands of killed mink being buried at the Jydske Dragonregiment's training ground at Noerre Felding near Holstebro in Denmark, after Denmark, the world's biggest producer of mink fur, had announced it would cull all of the country's minks after a mutated version of the new coronavirus was detected at its mink farms and had spread to people, on Nov. 12, 2020. If Copenhagen doesn’t farm the skins, Russia will. Some 215 mink farms in Jutland region are infected with this type of coronavirus, and therefore a regional lockdown has been announced to curb the infection. At fur farms, minks are densely packed in conditions ripe for close contact with one another. In northern Wisconsin, two farms in Taylor County are currently under quarantine after recent outbreaks killed 5,500 minks. If farms with outbreaks were isolated, it’s not known whether the virus would circulate through all the minks and eventually die out. Kaufman, whose family has been in the business since 1870, said his shop is busier this year than last, and customers aren’t talking about the minks getting Covid-19. Fur farming is the practice of breeding or raising certain types of animals for their fur. Spain, Sweden, Italy, and the US have all been affected, as has the Netherlands, where mink farming will be outlawed by spring next year. ⦠[3] Mink produced in Denmark is considered to be the finest in the world and is ranked by grade, with the best being Saga Royal, followed by Saga, Quality 1, and Quality 2. [14] A deal was later reached to retroactively make the government's order legal. Nesting boxes are attached inside the cage. [5][6], American mink (Neovison vison) were introduced as a farm animal in Denmark in the mid-1920s[7] â European mink (Mustela lutreola) have never been recorded in Denmark. Climatic conditions in Denmark, where the winter is mild and the summer is cool, are considered ideal for husbanding animals with fur cover. Under UK law, minks, as well as foxes and moles, are protected under ⦠Outrage fomented in Denmark after images and videos of botched killings and mass mink graves circulated, and farmers spoke to the hardship this would cause them. Similarly, in response to the coronavirus outbreaks in mink farms, the Netherlands is moving up its mink fur farming ban from 2024 to 2021. Most of the world's farmed fur is produced by European farmers. Denmark is the world's biggest producer of mink fur and its main export markets are China and Hong Kong. AFP - December 21, 2020 11:51 PM. But Denmark’s decision was not without detractors. Those conditions might be ideal for shoving the small mammals into metal machines that skin them for fancy coats and hats, but they also can be breeding grounds for the coronavirus. Aan employee removing dead mink from a chamber after they were gassed on a farm near Naestved, Denmark on Nov. 6, 2020. “When it gets cold, people need fur.”. “When you’ve got a disease that is killing lots of people, there is less willingness to be lax with the animal side,” he said. Denmark is not the first country to report outbreaks on fur farms but it is the world's biggest producer. All 12 cases were identified in September 2020 in North Jutland, Denmark. “We should be identifying the interfaces where humans and animals are in close and frequent enough contact that virus spillover is possible, and doing surveillance.”. It’s why both Weese and Runstadler say more studying needs to be done to understand Covid-19 in minks. News of “zombie minks,” pushed up from their shallow and quickly built graves by the gas created from their decomposing bodies, has only furthered anger. Denmark on Monday banned mink farming until the start of 2022 after it emerged that a strain of the coronavirus can be passed between the animals and humans. More than 50 million mink a year are bred for their fur, mainly in China, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland. Ministry staff conducted inspections at each of the provinceâs licensed mink farms to ⦠Here in Denmark⦠Denmark is one of the world's main mink fur exporters, producing an estimated 17 million furs per year. The virus, officials said, spread from human handler to mink, mutated, and then spread back to humans. [3][4], In November 2020, a mutated strain of COVID-19 known as "cluster 5" was detected among minks, leading the Danish Government to order the culling of 17 million minks in order to prevent a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. The Danish government said Tuesday it wants to ban mink farming until the end of 2021, as it presented a law proposal that would allow for the culling of 15 million minks as announced last week. “They put down cows when they have cow disease, they put down chickens when they have salmonella, this isn’t the first time animals have been killed for disease purposes. Using ⦠Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix via Reuters file. Denmark culled 17 million minks in November in response to Covid-19 outbreaks at more than 200 mink farms. [18] A Danish mink farm might have 13,000 cages, set in rows of 60 metres (200 ft) length, and 43 sheds in which two to four minks are housed. Million minks in November but not as well to cats, but not well. Million minks in November in response to outbreaks at more than 200 mink farms, of which 12 thought... 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