Denmark extends ban on mink breeding to 2023
The government of Denmark has agreed to extend the temporary ban on mink breeding for another year to 2023. The current ban was instituted after a COVID-19 outbreak in several hundred mink farms in Denmark last year prompted the government to order all mink in the country culled.
Animal Protection Denmark has long argued that mink production is unethical. The organisation points out that mink are active predators, which in the wild defend territories, often covering several kilometers and stretches of water. On mink farms, however, they spend their entire lives in very small and barren wire cages, where they are deprived of their basic natural behavior.
With their decision, lawmakers followed an assessment from the country's top infectious diseases institute, which said that allowing mink breeding in Denmark at the end of this year could still pose a public health risk. Animal Protection Denmark hopes the extension can open the door to a permanent ban.
The decision still needs to be ratified in parliament.
The temporary ban on mink calves has been triggered and extended due to public health risks, but we are now in a situation where we can ban it permanently, for the sake of the animals.Britta Riis, Director of Animal Protection Denmark
