Dutch mink fur farms have made headlines throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Per the Humane Society International (HSI), an estimated 1 million mink have been killed under government order during the coronavirus pandemic.

As of July 15, 24 farms in the Netherlands have reported evidence of coronavirus on their farms. HSI is calling to close fur farms earlier than the planned phase-out of 2024. Fur farms were banned in 2013, with the 2024 deadline. With the coronavirus, this decision should be fast-tracked.

The Dutch government said in late June that it could consider closing farms and banning breeding after Parliament adopted the motion to do so. The final decision will be announced in August. While the government delays a decision, 4.5 million mink were farmed in 2018, alone. Those mink were farmed on 128 fur farms around the country, according to HSI. Two farm workers are thought to have caught the coronavirus from mink on the farm.

Watch this video about mink farming during the coronavirus:

Source: Al Jazeera English 

Dr. Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for Humane Society International/Europe, said in an emailed statement,  “The death toll from the Dutch mink fur farm culls has now reached 1 million mink and the risk from failing to eliminate this virus reservoir is clear and yet still the Dutch government is not acting decisively by fast-tracking the early closure of this cruel and dangerous industry. The Dutch Parliament has already adopted a motion calling for the mink industry to shut down before the existing 2024 deadline. In addition to fur factory farming being inherently cruel, the potential for zoonotic disease spread, and for mink fur farms, in particular, to act as reservoirs for coronaviruses, incubating pathogens transmissible to humans, is an unavoidably compelling reason for the world to call time on fur farming.”

Read more about mink and fur farms during coronavirus, including the coronavirus spread through the farms and the Dutch government’s previous statement on mink and the coronavirus. 

Mink shouldn’t be farmed anywhere in the EU! Sign this petition to ban all mink farms in Denmark!

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