Last year, Denmark reduced the number of farmed minks by killing them in hordes after coronavirus infections broke out amid the animals. But in the succeeding months, hastily buried mink remnants started rising up from the ground, moved skyward by the gases oozing from their decaying flesh, according to news reports.
Culling Farmed Minks
Danish authorities publicized a plan in November 2020 to reduce the number of all farmed mink in the country after over 200 farms reported SARS-CoV-2 infections amid their animals, Livescience reported previously. The virus, which brings about COVID-19 in humans, had picked up mutations while dispersing among the mink, and the Danish officials became disturbed that the mutant virus might be transmitted to humans and worsen the pandemic.
Professor in the department of infectious disease and global health at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Massachusetts, Jonathan Runstadler in December told NBC News: "The other thing to be concerned about is having this virus contracted by an animal host that turns into a local or regional reservoir for viral infections."
Live Science previously reported that a few thousand mink got away from Danish farms every year, so some already infected mink could have possibly wandered into the wild and spread the virus to other animals.
Also Read: Mink Workers Infected With Coronavirus First Known Cases of Animal-Human Transmission
289 Mink Farms Affected
Recognizing these concerns, the Danish government in early November 2020 issued its order, and "mink on all 289 mink farms that were affected, and farms close to an assigned zone, by Nov. 25, were culled," as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Almost all of the approximately 17 million mink remnants were burned in waste incinerators, but because of limited capacity, around 4 million mink were rather buried in military regions in western Denmark, Reuters reported.
Reuters reported one of the mass graves is sited close to a swimming lake and the other close to a drinking water source, which brought about concerns of water contamination from local residents. And shortly after their first burial, the mink remnants began sticking out through the ground, just like a scene pulled from a flick of bad zombie, NBC News reported.
4 Million Minks to be Dug Out and Burned
Reuters reported that as a comeback to this disaster, the Danish government made a decision to dig the mass mink graves beginning May 2021, and that plan has finally started. Per the plan, by mid-July, the 4 million mink will be dug out and they will be burned at 13 central heating plants around Denmark.
Mink, either of two species belongs to the weasel family (Mustelidae) indigenous to the Northern Hemisphere. The American mink (Neovison vison) and the European mink (Mustela lutreola) are both highly rated for their luxurious fur. One of the pillars of the fur industry is the American mink and is raised in confinement throughout the world.
Related Article: Mink Mass Graves in Denmark may have Contaminated Groundwater
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