Danish Agriculture Minister resigned for his …

The Danish Minister of Agriculture, Mogens Jensen, announced his resignation, acknowledging “errors” in his management, after criticism over the sacrifice of about 15 million visones. A mutation of coronavirus in these mammals, transmissible to humans, this led them to make this decision.

“I think I no longer have the necessary support from the parties represented in Parliament. I have to resign,” Jensen said on a public broadcast. “I informed the Prime Minister that I wanted to resign my government post“, He also announced on his Twitter account.

On November 4, the Social Democratic government imposed restrictions in several cities and, on the basis of legal reform, ordered the sacrifice of all minks –between 15 and 17 million copies– after discovering a coronavirus mutation in these animals that could compromise the effectiveness of a future vaccine and the health of the inhabitants of Denmark.

Self-criticism

After carrying out the order, the former minister admitted last week that the government’s decision to euthanize all mink in Denmark had no legal basis.

“We made a mistake. There is no legal basis asking mink farms to slaughter their animals outside of areas “where infected mammals have been detected, Jensen said last week. But on the other hand, urged farms to continue slaughtering animals as a “precaution”.

The laws of the Scandinavian country, however, they only allowed the sacrifice of infected animals or those who a radius of 7.8 kilometers from reliably certified sources, which precipitated a political conflict.

“It is clear that mistakes have been made in my ministry, and I take the responsibility“, He added when publishing the results of an audit on these events.

Some herders have protested against the slaughter of healthy animals and the local press has revealed that the law does not allow this practice outside areas where the sick are concentrated. In search of a solution, the government introduced a bill to ban mink farming until 2022.

However, neither the government’s efforts nor the apologies were enough, and the proposal was criticized even among members of the left of the minority social democratic government. Finally, the government and the parties supporting it have reached an agreement to ban temporary breeding until December 31, 2021.

Viral mutation

The movement, fueled by fears that coronavirus mutations can be transmitted between mink and humans, includes the ban – also until the end of next year – on the import or export of these live animals to or from Denmark.

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

In addition to 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.