Cases of Covid-19 have been reported in mink on 20 farms in the Netherlands since the start of the epidemic, leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of these small mammals, the ministry said on Monday. Agriculture.
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The Dutch authorities started the slaughterings at the beginning of June after the first contamination had been noted, in order to prevent them from becoming sources of contamination. " In total, contaminations were found in 20 mink farms in the Netherlands ", all located in the south of the country, said in a statement the Ministry of Agriculture.
All of the mammals were slaughtered on 18 of these farms. The mink slaughter of the last two farms will follow on Monday, the ministry added, adding that the last farm where the virus was officially detected had 12,000 mothers.
Authorities established in May that two farm workers " most likely " contracted Covid-19 through mink. These two cases are likely to have been the “ first known cases of transmission ” of the new coronavirus from animal to man, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The government subsequently banned the transport of these animals and made Covid-19 testing compulsory in all mink farms in the Netherlands, where they are reared for their fur. In 2016, the country's highest court ordered the closure of mink farms by 2024.