[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. Denmark is among the largest mink exporters in the world and produces an estimate 17 million furs per year. If Russia doesn’t, China will. Mink give birth to their litter of generally five offspring in the nesting boxes; they also feed the litter in the nesting boxes. ... negotiated and the government is introducing legislation effectively banning mink farming … Denmark will cull about 17 million mink after a mutated form of coronavirus that can spread to humans was found on mink farms. If Copenhagen doesn’t farm the skins, Russia will. This has an annual export value of EUR 1,1 billion. Kopenhagen Fur, a cooperative of 1,500 Danish breeders, accounts for … Even at peak, the Irish and Greek mink industries were never even a fraction the size of the now largely liquidated mink industry in Denmark, which before the COVID-19 pandemic produced about 40% of the mink pelts sold worldwide. Like every other fur farmer in Denmark, he has 10 days to kill his mink. Either way there is gonna be a supply because there is demand.”. Part of the problem, he explained, is that we don’t know the effects of the spread. “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.”. [10] Fur trade has been declared as one of the twenty nine "special competence clusters in Danish economic life" by the Ministry of Commerce in Denmark. They need to stick onto something. The minks are farmed for their fur, which is then used for various purposes, including coats, clothing and … An excavator dumps dead mink into a ditch earlier this month. It’s why both Weese and Runstadler say more studying needs to be done to understand Covid-19 in minks. Denmark’s government has submitted a bill that would ban mink farming until 2022 while it seeks to address concerns that the animals may spread mutated variants of coronavirus to humans. 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. 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. 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. Denmark was forced to launch a wholesale cull of the country’s entire population of farmed mink due to a massive coronavirus outbreak among the animals. Opponents say the eradication of all healthy mink was a breach of the Danish constitution. [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. (CNN) The United Kingdom has banned travelers from Denmark after the country reported a widespread outbreak of a new variant of the virus which causes Covid-19 in mink farms. 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 … "We would rather go a step too far than take a step too little to combat Covid-19,” the country’s foreign minister Jeppe Kofod said at a press conference in early November. Ministry staff conducted inspections at each of the province’s licensed mink farms to … Economic support packages have been established for those affected. 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. Aan employee removing dead mink from a chamber after they were gassed on a farm near Naestved, Denmark on Nov. 6, 2020. 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. In northern Wisconsin, two farms in Taylor County are currently under quarantine after recent outbreaks killed 5,500 minks. The country's prime minister later apologized and its food and agriculture minister stepped down when the order to kill the animals was declared illegal. 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. 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. 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. Most of the world's farmed fur is produced by European farmers. What is known, though, Ontario Veterinary College professor Scott Weese said, is that viruses don’t automatically work their way into cells. Plus, people don’t have the close attachment to minks they might dogs. Denmark wants to ban mink farming until end 2021 (Associated Press) Denmark has found 214 people infected with mink-related coronavirus: State Serum Institute (Reuters) Denmark, the world’s largest mink fur exporter, produces an estimated 17 million furs per year. An excavator dumps dead mink into a ditch earlier this month. 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”. Mink breeder Thorbjoern Jepsen holds up a mink, as police forcibly gained access to his mink farm in Gjoel, Denmark, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. Today, more than 45% of the global market is produced or processed in Denmark. At fur farms, minks are densely packed in conditions ripe for close contact with one another. Most of its exports go to China and Hong Kong. Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix via Reuters file. “This will end our business.”. Here in Denmark… [8] By the mid-1980s, Denmark was the second largest mink producer, behind the United States. 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. “Big picture, it’s not probably a big deal because few people have contact with minks.”. At least twelve people have been infected by the mink farm strain though hundreds of cases could be linked to it. By Eli Cahan Aug. 18, 2020 , 10:55 AM. His department is helping the farms compost the mink bodies, and there are currently no conversations in the state about mass culling. 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. Demand is there, and need for the product is there. Mink carcasses are disposed of at a farm in Farre in the southern part of Jutland, Denmark Read More Related Articles. The culling of at least 2.5 million minks in northern Denmark has started, authorities said Monday after the coronavirus has … [20] Major export markets for Danish mink are China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. 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. The small, ferret-like mammals farmed for their valuable fur have raised alarm after contracting and mutating the coronavirus, passing it back to humans. The Danish government proposed legislation in Parliament that would ban mink farming until December 2021 and allow about 15 million minks to … When outbreaks occur at farms, local health departments are mandating quarantines. [17] Fish waste from the fishing industry is used as feed at mink farms. But a cull of the country’s entire mink population is put on hold. Nesting boxes are attached inside the cage. Denmark, the world's largest mink fur exporter, produces an estimated 17 million furs per year. 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 … “We have viruses that are just human viruses or dog viruses or cat viruses,” he explained. Mink fur of Denmark is exclusively auctioned through Kopenhagen Fur. [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. “With or without a cull, the animals on these farms would still be violently killed at some point,” Ashley Byrne, an associate director at PETA, said. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — 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. There are 5,000 fur farms in the EU, all located across 22 countries; these areas of production collectively account for 50% of the global production of farmed fur. Denmark is one of the world's main mink fur exporters, producing an estimated 17 million furs per year. It also attaches pretty well to cats, but not as well to dogs and cows, he said. 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. Things happen.” he said. 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. FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2012, file photo, minks look out of a cage at a fur farm in the village of Litusovo, northeast of Minsk, Belarus. 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. After news of mink farm outbreaks in Denmark broke in the fall, B.C. Four were found in the local community, rather than … “Transmission back to people is more a concern at a personal level,” Weese said. 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. Additionally, mink farming has been banned in Denmark until 31 December 2021, including import and export of live mink. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 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. Mink farm owner Stig Sørensen in Bording, Denmark. “That would lead one to think that the virus has retained the capability of replication and infection in other animal hosts as well.”. 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