Denmark pauses mass mink slaughter to contain mutated coronavirus after criticism
- About 17 million animals were to be gassed and either burned or thrown into mass graves amid fears of a new Covid-19 mutation that started in mink farms
- But it is now clear that the government lacks the three-quarters majority it needs to pass the emergency legislation through parliament
Denmark will not go ahead with a plan to immediately slaughter millions of mink, after opposition lawmakers slammed the government’s handling of the proposed cull.
But it is now clear the Social Democrat administration of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, which initially issued an order to mink farmers, lacks the three-quarters majority needed to pass such emergency legislation through parliament. Food and Fisheries Minister Mogens Jensen has since issued an apology for the confusion.
“There are huge doubts relating to whether the planned cull was based on an adequate scientific basis,” Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, the leader of the opposition Liberals, told broadcaster TV2. “At the same time, one’s depriving a lot of people of their livelihoods.”
Farmers, who had been promised financial incentives by the government to proceed swiftly, reportedly halted the mass killings by Monday afternoon. They will continue to put down infected animals, but not those that are healthy. About 2.5 million animals have already been killed, according to TV2.
Frederiksen’s administration still plans to put forward the emergency bill on Tuesday but with an understanding that lawmakers will need longer to digest the proposal, according to an official close to the talks. The government also has the option to use the standard legislative route, which would only require more than 50 per cent backing, but take longer.