Mink farms cull....

JohnC6

JohnC6

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Denmark is to kill the whole of its mink farm stock amounting to. 15 million mink. The authorities fear a mutation of Covid-19 is transferring to humans..staff, I assume. which could jeopardise vaccines.

Personally, I hope they never re-open them. No doubt the people who run them will be compensated.

www.theguardian.com

Denmark announces cull of 15 million mink over Covid mutation fears

Mutated virus infects 12 humans, sparking concerns that effectiveness of future vaccine could be affected
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
I agree, mink farming has no merit whatever, millions of animals suffer and are kept in appalling conditions in the name of fashion.
In this country, well-meaning but ignorant do-gooders have raided mink farms and released mink, where they have decimated other animal populations.
 
Garry Edwards said:
I agree, mink farming has no merit whatever, millions of animals suffer and are kept in appalling conditions in the name of fashion.
In this country, well-meaning but ignorant do-gooders have raided mink farms and released mink, where they have decimated other animal populations.
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My mum made "pocket money" going out with her dad (in the 1950s) to kill Mink a coypu that had escaped from farms. If you think mink cause damage, you haven't seen the damage a coypu can cause.
 
munch said:
If you think mink cause damage, you haven't seen the damage a coypu can cause.
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2 totally different environmental impacts.
The coypu was declared "extinct" (after massive campaigns) by the late 80's or was it early 90's ...
However a friend of mine in the eastern counties told me that they were being seen occasionally not long after.
 
Cobra said:
2 totally different environmental impacts.
The coypu was declared "extinct" (after massive campaigns) by the late 80's or was it early 90's ...
However a friend of mine in the eastern counties told me that they were being seen occasionally not long after.
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True, but an impact none the less. When I was growing up in the 60's I used to visit my grandparents who lived on the marshes on the edge of the Norfolk Broads, It wasn't uncommon to come across a coypu in the garden. Believe me as a 5-year-old coming face to face with a coypu, means rats hold no fear.

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https://c8.alamy.com/comp/EGCTEG/nutria-or-coypu-myocastor-coypus-crossing-a-frozen-pond-bavaria-germany-EGCTEG.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/coypu.html&tbnid=sHkCdbbq84_2aM&vet=12ahUKEwimoOnjjuvsAhVO0eAKHapoA_MQMygGegUIARDmAQ..i&docid=Y14NkZKjy682wM&w=1300&h=956&q=coypu&ved=2ahUKEwimoOnjjuvsAhVO0eAKHapoA_MQMygGegUIARDmAQ

When people say they have seen a rat as big as a cat, well that's the size of a "baby" coypu.

In the 70's when I went to my grandparents, I would often meet the Coypu Control man. Who would spend his lunchtimes fishing, often with the generator running in the back of the van to boil his kettle. It was only later I realised why the generator was running in a closed van.
 
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munch said:
True, but an impact none the less.
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I'm not disagreeing both are very destructive in their own way.
And yes I do know what they look like & how big they are.
 
Coypu can't hide as well as mink...
 
I always wanted a mink hat, years ago i had a silver fox haat that i believe came from the old soviet union.
 
munch said:
My mum made "pocket money" going out with her dad (in the 1950s) to kill Mink a coypu that had escaped from farms. If you think mink cause damage, you haven't seen the damage a coypu can cause.
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No, I haven’t seen any damage caused by either but we were visiting friends a few years ago, they live in Brittany and they told me about coypu that were living on/in the banks of a local stream or small river so, having never seen one I went there with my camera and sure enough there was a family of them. I stood on an old stone road bridge looking down on them..just 5 or so metres below me and they took no notice of me. A couple were foraging in a meadow by the stream and the others were on the muddy banks at the base of the bridge and a couple were swimming around. Our friends told us that from time to time a cull takes place and as you say they cause damage..a lot from what you say..then that must be the reason.

I’m sure I posted my photos on here.
 
As has been said, mink will tend to go for eggs and small birds/animals and can decimate the wildlife in the area they are in.

The coypu's main damage is through it's borrowing into riverbanks and ditches, as well as its appetite for vegetables. So certainly around the Broads (where they escaped from) with low lying marshes etc. they would cause major flooding by the borrowing (and subsequent collapses) They can also decimate fields (and stores) of things like sugarbeet as well as the impact the flooding had on local wildlife.
 
Mink are already widespread. I have seen quite a few when out walking, but my locale is polluted with reared pheasants so that is the attraction for them. Increase the availability of prey and predator numbers will rise in proportion.
Wild mink are not a risk to humans, but there is always a risk with mink farms that there is a mass escape. Shut the farms down.
 
Back in March I had people ridiculing me for saying there would be animal/human infection from Covid-19. The big cats at Brooklyn Zoo caught it from keepers. There was already knowledge of the virus being passed from bats and pangolin to humans in China.
 
arclight said:
Mink are already widespread. I have seen quite a few when out walking, but my locale is polluted with reared pheasants so that is the attraction for them. Increase the availability of prey and predator numbers will rise in proportion.
Wild mink are not a risk to humans, but there is always a risk with mink farms that there is a mass escape. Shut the farms down.
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Back in the eighties, I used to fish for chub, roach and pike in a local river in quite a rural setting. Every time I fished at least one mink was present.
 
andya700 said:
Every time I fished at least one mink was present.
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Yep they'll pretty much eat anything flesh related.

arclight said:
Wild mink are not a risk to humans, but there is always a risk with mink farms that there is a mass escape.
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That was the problem, they were farmed during the war for their pelts, some escaped, and were noted to be breeding in the '50's
But the real issue is that 1000's upon 1,000's were released by the like of the ALF in the '90's.

They are an alien species ( American) and should be reported to DEFRA or at least the land owner, where they are,
who in turn has a legal obligation to kill them.
 
Who is buying mink fur these days? I thought wearing fur was pretty much a no no. 17 million to be culled according to the BBC news today... why are there so many being bred?
 
boogie man said:
Who is buying mink fur these days? I thought wearing fur was pretty much a no no. 17 million to be culled according to the BBC news today... why are there so many being bred?
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No surprise really. China imports 85% of Danish mink furs. I've given up any hope that as we learn more about wildlife through TV programmes a more positive attitude will develop.It's a Korean cultural delicacy which trumps the illegality of it.

From Wiki.. Denmark's climate is ideal for it.It's ranked third in Den mark's agricultural exports producing 49% of the world's mink pelts. In addition to the large mink farms are many small units run by families.

Mink fur of Denmark is exclusively auctioned through Kopenhagen Fur. Auctions are held five times in a year, with the first held in December after the newly pelted skins are ready, and the last in September. Each auction typically sells some 260 million euro worth of fur and lasts five days.[12] Major export markets for Danish mink are China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. In the December 2012 auction, there were 500 bidders with 85 percent of the pelts purchased by customers from China. The average price per mink skin was 582 Danish crowns (US$100), the highest price ever recorded at Kopenhagen Fur.[13] Fashion house Birger Christensen, purveyor to the Danish royal family, is "the finest furrier in Copenhagen" and sells only Saga Royal grade fur.[3]
 
boogie man said:
Who is buying mink fur these days? I thought wearing fur was pretty much a no no. 17 million to be culled according to the BBC news today... why are there so many being bred?
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ummmm, get your head out of the UK and pretty much most of the Asian sub continent, china, eastern europe,,,
 
JohnC6 said:
No surprise really. China imports 85% of Danish mink furs. I've given up any hope that as we learn more about wildlife through TV programmes a more positive attitude will develop.It's a Korean cultural delicacy which trumps the illegality of it.
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Remind me how this covid thing started.....?
 
JonathanRyan said:
Remind me how this covid thing started.....?
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Well thats not really the Q now. Whats important is whether we get Cluster 5 contained or if its allready becoming the next pandemic.
Seems right now that Mink is history here. I wonder what is going to happen in Sweden.
 
soeren said:
Well thats not really the Q now. Whats important is whether we get Cluster 5 contained or if its allready becoming the next pandemic.
Seems right now that Mink is history here. I wonder what is going to happen in Sweden.
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I didn't realise that the Netherlands hasd mink farms neither Sweden. The only reason I know that they exist in Denmark is a Countryfile (I'm sure it was Countryfile) programme on it and it came with a warning.

A copy/paste.
The Dutch government killed the mink populations on 68 mink farms in June and announced the intention to permanently close the sites from the spring of 2021 after an outbreak of coronavirus.

A survey of employees in mink farms in the Netherlands found that more than 50% had been infected by a strain of the coronavirus found in the minks. The conclusion arrived at was that many of the people could have been directly or indirectly infected by the animal

I see Sweden has a fast-growing mink fur industry too so I expect there is concern there. I did a search but couldn't find any reference to their situation.
 
JohnC6 said:
I didn't realise that the Netherlands hasd mink farms neither Sweden. The only reason I know that they exist in Denmark is a Countryfile (I'm sure it was Countryfile) programme on it and it came with a warning.

A copy/paste.
The Dutch government killed the mink populations on 68 mink farms in June and announced the intention to permanently close the sites from the spring of 2021 after an outbreak of coronavirus.

A survey of employees in mink farms in the Netherlands found that more than 50% had been infected by a strain of the coronavirus found in the minks. The conclusion arrived at was that many of the people could have been directly or indirectly infected by the animal

I see Sweden has a fast-growing mink fur industry too so I expect there is concern there. I did a search but couldn't find any reference to their situation.
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10 farms infected but No plans to to but any animals down.a big worrying
 
By any chance is this mink link with coronavirus (of which there are many variations that have been around for a long long time) something for which there is specific proven scientific evidence that we can read about.
Mink have legs and mink with a zoonotic viral infection have WINGS .................... :eek:
 
arclight said:
By any chance is this mink link with coronavirus (of which there are many variations that have been around for a long long time) something for which there is specific proven scientific evidence that we can read about.
Mink have legs and mink with a zoonotic viral infection have WINGS .................... :eek:
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These are very early days so you won't find a full scientific paper, just brief summaries like the one Soeren posted. The mink virus isn't any old coronavirus, but a minor variant of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The mink caught it from us, and now we've caught it back from them, with some extra mutations. These viruses mutate all the time when they copy themselves, so changes aren't unexpected. Most mutations don't have any particular functional consequences. But some of the mink viruses have 4 specific mutations that affect the 'spike' protein that sticks out from the surface of the virus and is crucial for the process by which the virus enters our cells. It may be that these mutations were selected for when the virus was infecting mink, perhaps making it easier for the virus to enter mink cells.

So far, there's no evidence that they make the virus any more transmissible or virulent than it already is in humans. The cause for concern is rather that antibodies already made against other variants of the spike protein (when recovering from an infection, or after receiving a vaccine) may not neutralise this one as effectively, and there is preliminary evidence for this from some lab experiments using patient antibodies and virus grown in cultured cells. One of these same four changes, Y453F, has turned up previously and apparently makes binding of one of the antibodies in the Regeneron cocktail that was give to Trump less effective. So the Danish public health officials are concerned that if the mink variant of the virus were to become prevalent in the human population, it might be easier to contract Covid again, and it also might reduce the effectiveness of the first generation of vaccine candidates and therapeutic antibodies. This is largely a theoretical risk at the moment - results from quick experiments in cell culture may not translate into a significant clinical issue. But it pays to be cautious.

More here:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpisnBMtBEI&t=39m43s


A decent article in the Guardian:

www.theguardian.com

Mink and coronavirus: what's happened and should we be worried?

Sars-CoV-2 has jumped from humans, mutated and crossed back to cause new infections
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Informed discussion from scientists in this thread:

View: https://BANNED/firefoxx66/status/1324748987501608962
 
Retune said:
The mink virus isn't any old coronavirus, but a minor variant of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The mink caught it from us, and now we've caught it back from them, with some extra mutations.
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I didn't realise that in which case it looks like Nature's retribution or some would say, karma.
 
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