MADRID (AFP): Spain has ordered the culling of about 100,000 mink on a northeastern farm after confirming that several were carrying coronavirus, a regional official informed.
Addressing a press conference today (Thursday), Agriculture Minister for the Aragon region Joaquin Olona said that the cull would involve the slaughter of some 92,700 mink who are prized for their pelt.
The Minister informed that the mink farm is located in Puebla de Valverde, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of the coastal resort of Valencia. “The farm has been carefully monitored since May 22 after seven workers tested positive for COVID-19,” he added.
He further said, “Since then, Officials have carried out a string of PCR tests which showed that 87 percent of the mink were infected,” adding, “The development has prompted the decision to carry out a cull in order to avoid human transmission.”
The district health officials claimed that the virus first reached the farm through a worker who passed it on to the animals. However, the minister in this regard said, “It was not completely clear if the transmission was possible from animals to humans and vice versa.”
Earlier in July, tens of thousands of mink had been slaughtered in the Netherlands since the start of the pandemic after 20 farms were found to be infected. Spain is one of the worst affected countries from the coronavirus pandemic.
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