People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is slamming Denmark’s decision to slaughter up to 17 million minks after scientists found the furry critters were spreading a mutated strain of the coronavirus.
“Cramming animals together in filth caused the pandemic and as this latest incident proves, it also causes mutations,” PETA wrote on Twitter.
“We cannot expect better results — or a cure — if we continue along the same path. No one ‘needs’ a mink coat, but we DO need a vaccine! Shut the fur farms down. Now.”
The Nordic country announced the mink massacre earlier this week, saying a mutated version of COVID-19 — that didn’t respond well to antibodies — was spreading between minks and humans.
“The worst-case scenario is a new pandemic, starting all over again out of Denmark,” said Kare Molbak, the director at the State Serum Institute, which identified the mink mutation.
Since the summer, COVID-19 outbreaks have ravaged Danish mink farms, one of the world’s largest producers of mink fur, but repeated efforts to stymie the spread and cull only impacted areas have failed.
Culling is a planned slaughter of certain groups of animal populations for reasons such as overpopulation. Minks, a cross between a ferret and an otter, are often farmed for their luxurious fur.
