Denmark is preparing to terminate as many as 17 million minks to mitigate the spread of a mutated version of the coronavirus that has found a way to infect the animals and spread it to humans. The decision came after the strain was detected on several mink farms in the region.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen mentioned during a press conference that the culling of the animals was necessary as the mutated strain could pose a risk to the effectiveness of vaccines being developed around the globe. She added that the situation was "very, very serious" and that action had to be taken immediately.
"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," Frederiksen said during a conference.
Minks are a species of semiaquatic mammals that are prized around the world for their fur. Demark is the world's largest producer of mink fur with dozens of large farms spread across the country.
Authorities have said that they will be culling the minks as soon as possible. Scientists have reportedly detected hundreds of coronavirus cases in minks over the past several months, mostly in farms located in the country's northern Jutland region.
A recently published government report showed that the strain infecting the minks possessed the ability to weaken a human body's process in creating antibodies. The report concluded that the new mutated strain could potentially make current vaccines ineffective.
Police Chief Thorkild Fogde said that they are currently making preparations to cull minks at more than 1,000 farms. This would entail the terminations of more than 17 million minks, which the chief said would be a "very large undertaking."
Back in July, Spain was also forced to cull up to 100,000 minks after it had detected infections at one farm located in Aragon province. In the Netherlands, authorities also culled tens of thousands of Minks after it received reports of an outbreak.
Researchers are still trying to determine how the virus was able to infect minks and how it had gained the ability to jump from minks to humans.
