* At the end of 2020, approximately 15.4 million mink were killed as a result of a coronavirus mutation among the minks.
* It was the government’s decision that all mink should be killed. This was explained, among other things, by a fear that the mutated coronavirus could pose a threat to a future vaccine against covid-19.
* Part of the killed mink was disposed of by the company Daka, which is usually responsible for the destruction of animals from agriculture. Others were burned at some incinerators.
* Approximately 13,000 tonnes of mink – corresponding to a third of the killed animals – were buried in graves at two military areas in Nørre Felding near Holstebro and Kølvrå near Karup. This was because the authorities lacked the capacity for incineration.
* The burial of the many mink caused great resistance in the surrounding areas, as it was feared that the mink graves could contaminate groundwater and drinking water.
* A political majority consisting of the government, the Unity List, the Socialist People’s Party, the Radical Left, the Alternative and the Free Greens decided on 20 December that the killed mink should be exhumed six months later.
* At that time, according to a risk assessment from the Danish Veterinary Consortium, the minks no longer pose a risk of infection.
* On 13 May 2021, the first dead mink were dug up in Nørre Felding and then sent for incineration as a kind of general test.
* On 25 May, work begins on emptying the graves of mink, first in Nørre Felding and then in Kølvrå.
* The minks are dug up at the rate they can be burned at 13 waste facilities across the country.
* The expectation is that all mink will be excavated and burned by mid-July.
* Later, so-called remedial measures must be implemented to ensure that juices from the mink carcasses do not end up in groundwater.
* The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries first estimated that it would cost 72 million kroner to solve the task. But as a precaution, the Folketing has been asked for a budget of DKK 150 million to carry out the task.
Sources: Ritzau, Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.
Source: The Nordic Page