Danish authorities cull 126 minks at illegal fur farm
Denmark’s Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) on Wednesday put down 126 minks which were being bred at a North Jutland farm in breach of a current ban on the industry.
Staff from the authority put down each of the animals with an injection, the agency confirmed in a statement.
The farm’s owner has been reported to police.
Mink breeding for the fur trade has been illegal in Denmark since December 29th last year, when a law was passed against it following a mass culling of the animals and the shuttering of the industry due to concerns related to Covid-19 transmission in minks.
The government order to cull the animals was later found to have no legal basis and is currently being investigated by a special commission.
READ ALSO: Denmark’s prime minister faces inquiry over decision to cull minks
Due to the law, it is not legal to own more than five minks.
A station officer at Central and West Jutland police confirmed that animals had been found at the farm.
“The Veterinary and Food Administration came to us with a complaint,” said the officer, Christian Toftemark.
The agency was informed via an anonymous tip. The police and an investigative unit from the food agency subsequently visited seven former mink farm sites in the area. The 126 minks were discovered at one of the farms.
“The minks we found today were being kept in normal mink cages. It is therefore our assessment that the minks were being kept for commercial purposes and therefore illegally. The case has therefore been referred to police for further investigation,” the head of the Veterinary and Food Administration investigative unit, Majbritt Birkmose, said in a press statement.
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Staff from the authority put down each of the animals with an injection, the agency confirmed in a statement.
The farm’s owner has been reported to police.
Mink breeding for the fur trade has been illegal in Denmark since December 29th last year, when a law was passed against it following a mass culling of the animals and the shuttering of the industry due to concerns related to Covid-19 transmission in minks.
The government order to cull the animals was later found to have no legal basis and is currently being investigated by a special commission.
READ ALSO: Denmark’s prime minister faces inquiry over decision to cull minks
Due to the law, it is not legal to own more than five minks.
A station officer at Central and West Jutland police confirmed that animals had been found at the farm.
“The Veterinary and Food Administration came to us with a complaint,” said the officer, Christian Toftemark.
The agency was informed via an anonymous tip. The police and an investigative unit from the food agency subsequently visited seven former mink farm sites in the area. The 126 minks were discovered at one of the farms.
“The minks we found today were being kept in normal mink cages. It is therefore our assessment that the minks were being kept for commercial purposes and therefore illegally. The case has therefore been referred to police for further investigation,” the head of the Veterinary and Food Administration investigative unit, Majbritt Birkmose, said in a press statement.
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