The Danish authorities will spend $ 3.1 billion to compensate fur farms after the killing of millions of minks due to infection with the coronavirus. Reported by Reuters.
The amount includes fees for downtime and compensation for lost profits until 2030. The agreement reached by the country’s parliament also allows farmers to resume mink farming after the temporary ban is lifted next year.
In November 2020, Denmark decided to destroy all 17 million minks at fur farms to prevent the spread of the mutated coronavirus. In these animals, an infection was found that spreads to humans and contributes to the weakening of the ability to form antibodies. At the end of the month, the killed minks “rose” from the ground where they were buried: the bodies of animals swelled as a result of the formation of animal gases in them and rose to the surface.
After the incident, WHO confirmed the susceptibility of minks to coronavirus, which makes them dangerous to humans. Therefore, there is a risk that the population of these animals could facilitate transmission of the virus.