More than 200 citizens of Denmark have been infected with a mutant strain of coronavirus that has spread from farmed mink to humans. This information will limit the effectiveness of a future vaccine. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, said that the eyes of the world is on Denmark when addressing 280,000 people in the north of the country who have been placed under stringent quarantine.
You may have heard that Denmark’s government has decided to kill all 17 million mink on the country’s mink farms because they fear that this farmed animal will become a reservoir for a mutant strain of Covid-19 which will restart the coronavirus in their country and which will spread to other countries. This, I believe, is why the Prime Minister has referred to the ‘eyes of the world’ being upon them.
The government feels a responsibility to the rest of the world to contain this mutant strain. Denmark is known for its mink farms and it is the largest producer of mink pelts which they almost exclusively export to China. For an animal advocate like me this is a toxic partnership and it is hoped that there will be a silver lining to the coronavirus in that it may put an end to this objectionable business for good. Although, I have to say that being realistic I have doubts that it will.
P.S. The country is going to kill this enormous number of animals by carbon monoxide poisoning. They’ve enlisted the army. I’ve decided that this will be a distressing and therefore cruel way to kill the animals. It’s a terrible reflection upon the human-animal relationship. The coronavirus was started through humans’ careless relationship with animals in China which causes animal suffering there and which is now being compounded by a 17 million pile of animal suffering in Denmark, considered to be one of the best countries in the world to live. Not a great reflection on this country.
