Coronavirus: Denmark has decided to sacrifice everything …

The Social Democratic government and four center-left parties agreed to promote a legal reform which allows, among other measures, the massacre of the entire mink population, to contain the mutation of the new coronavirus detected in this invasive species.

On November 4, the Danish executive announced the compulsory slaughter of 15 million mink after identifying in these mammals a very dangerous mutation of covid-19 for humans since, although this does not aggravate the complications caused by this disease, acts on antibodies, reduce their effectiveness.

However, the laws of the Scandinavian country only allowed the slaughter of infected animals or those within 4.8 miles of credible accredited sources, which precipitated a political conflict. “We made a mistake. There is no legal basis for asking mink farms to slaughter their animals outside contagion areas,” admitted Food Minister Mogens Jensen shortly after.

The legal reform Now promoted by the Social Democratic government, it will correct this error and consider a ban on the breeding of mink until December 31, 2021 and the transport of live specimens within the territory of Denmark. The official initiative also provides for the payment of just over 3 euros for each animal slaughtered, according to public television DR.

Meanwhile, the executive is analyzing special compensation for the owners of the thousand farms in Denmark, the world’s largest producer of mink, which has already slaughtered around 9 million specimens.

Viral mutation

More than 200 people have been infected with one of the five mutations of the virus detected in mink, including twelve with the so-called “Group 5“, which weakens the ability to create antibodies and could affect the effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines. However, in the past 2 months, no new cases have been detected.

Besides the slaughter of mink, authorities have imposed restrictions in seven municipalities in North Jutland, the area most affected by the pandemic, which include the closure of hotels and a recommendation to limit movements.