Mink at Danish farm to be culled after catching coronavirus

[June 17, 2020]  COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Mink at a farm in Denmark were found to be infected with the new coronavirus and the whole stock now has to be culled, Danish authorities said on Wednesday.

The outbreak is the first in Denmark, the world’s largest producer of mink skins, but comes shortly after the virus was detected at 13 mink farms in the Netherlands where roughly 570,000 minks have been ordered culled.

"The government has decided, on a precautionary principle, that the infected mink stock will be culled to minimize the risk of potential spread of the disease," said the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration in a statement.

Mink at the Danish farm were tested after a person affiliated with the farm tested positive with COVID-19.

The outbreaks on the Dutch mink farms are thought to have originated from their human handlers and then spread among the animals.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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