Dutch mink farms have begun a government-ordered cull over concern that animals infected with coronavirus could transmit it to humans reports The Guardian. Infected minks have been found on 10 Dutch farms where the animals are bred for their fur, according to the country’s Food & Wares Authority. “All mink breeding farms where there is an infection will be cleared, and farms where there are no infections won’t be,” said spokesperson Frederique Hermie.
The report says the government ordered the cull of 10,000 mink after determining that affected farms could act as long-term reservoirs of the disease.
Dutch mink were first infected with coronavirus by their handlers in April. The government identified two cases in which humans had been infected by sick animals in May, the only animal-to-human transmissions known since the global outbreak began in China.
According to the Dutch Federation of Pelt Farmers there are 140 mink farms in the Netherlands, exporting €90m worth of fur a year.
[link url="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/06/dutch-mink-farms-ordered-to-cull-10000-animals-over-coronavirus-risk"]Full report in The Guardian[/link]