Coronavirus found in mink in 18th fur farm, ministry not planning to end industry early

Photo: Peta.nl
Photo: Peta.nl

Coronavirus has been identified in mink at another fur farm in Noord-Brabant, taking the total to 18, the farm ministry has confirmed.

The farm, near the village of Landhorst, has 4,300 breeding females but the ministry statement did not say how many mink in total will be gassed. Breeding females tend to have around five pups each.

So far over 600,000 mink have been killed on farms affected by coronavirus. The ministry says the cull is necessary because in at least two instances, mink have been responsible for passing the virus on to humans.

The Dutch mink farm industry is one of the biggest in the world but is due to be phased out by 2024. Last month MPs voted in favour of closing down industry ahead of schedule, but there is little support for this in the cabinet.

Instead, the farm ministry is working on plans to help mink farmers voluntarily leave the industry this year.

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