Denmark's prime minister admitted that the mass mink call she authorized last week is illegal. Opposition to the cull is growing and the government dropped the emergency legislation underpinning the cull order. The legistlation was intended to protect any emerging vaccine from a SARS-CoV 2 strain migrating from mink to humans. Unfortunately the cull was already begun in areas seriously infected with the virus when the government admitted during question time in parlament on Tuesday the cull was illegal. The agricultural mnister apologized for his handling of the cull saying that there were not legal grounds for ordering farmers to destroy their stock outside of infected zones. So far 2.4 million mink have been destroyed; an estimated 17 million animals are raised in Denmark.
Warnings of further mutations in the virus, as well as support for the cull order came from the State Serum Institute, the public health body advising the government. Although the virus mutation is not a health risk for humans, Cluster 5, as the mink variant is known, poses a threat to the efficacy of human vaccines and antibody treatments. According to the Institute, eleven people are known to be infected with the Cluster 5 virus. Statens Serum Institut (SSI), has not found evidence of the mutated strain for more than a month. Farmers outside of infected zone are understandably confused by the government's reversal on the necessity of a cull.
In the US the American Veterinary Medical Association says 8,000 mink have died of SARS-CoV 2 virus infections in Utah. Thirty-four hundred more have reportedly died of the virus in Wisconsin. Death comes after serious distress from respiratory failure among populations of caged animals already under stress from cramped, unhealthy living conditions. Mink are farm raised for their fur, so they are non-essential, and the fur sector is shrinking as animal fur apparel becomes less socially acceptable. US Person thinks this potential disease reservoir should be shut down after existing animal stocks are depleted for public health and animal welfare reasons.