Coronavirus: Denmark to exhume millions of mink from mass graves

Transfer comes amid well being danger fears after mink carcasses rose from the bottom, pushed up by gasses from decomposition.

Denmark will exhume thousands and thousands of mink from mass graves after some carcasses resurfaced following a cull final month, elevating issues over well being dangers.

Officers ordered Denmark’s complete herd of roughly 15 million mink – that are farmed for his or her furs and prized within the high-end vogue business – be destroyed in early November after a mutated type of the novel coronavirus was discovered to have been transmitted between the animals and people.

Within the wake of the cull, 4 million of the animals had been rapidly buried in mass graves at navy websites close to Holstebro and Karup in Denmark’s west.

Authorities claimed there was no danger of the graves spreading the novel coronavirus, however native residents raised issues the carcasses may contaminate consuming water provides and a showering lake lower than 200 metres (650 toes) from the mass graves.

These fears had been heightened after lots of of mink carcasses lately resurfaced from the world’s sandy soil, as gasses from the decomposition course of pushed them out of the bottom.

Amid the disaster, Denmark’s authorities on Sunday mentioned it had gained help in Parliament to dig up the carcasses buried within the navy areas, in response to a press release by the meals and agriculture ministry.

The exhumation will start in Could subsequent yr when the danger of an infection has handed. The stays can be trucked to close by waste incinerators and cremated.

“This manner, we keep away from the mink being handled as harmful organic waste, an answer that’s by no means been used earlier than,” the ministry’s assertion mentioned.

The Danish authorities has beforehand admitted it had no authorized foundation for the cull, which additionally noticed wholesome animals killed off. The nation’s agriculture minister was compelled to resign over the fiasco.

Denmark is the world’s high mink fur exporter, with its pelts in excessive demand as a result of excessive breeding requirements.

The nation’s farms account for about 40 p.c of complete international manufacturing, with most exports going to China and Hong Kong.

About 6,000 persons are employed within the business nationwide. Nonetheless, the business is about to be placed on maintain by a invoice that will ban mink husbandry till 2022, which is anticipated to turn into legislation on Monday.