New outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 on Polish mink farms means 37,000 mink will be culled

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New outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 on Polish mink farms means 37,000 mink will be culled

25 June 2021
News
According to official information from the General Veterinary Inspectorate, a new SARS-CoV-2 mink farm outbreak has been detected in Poland. This is the second outbreak of coronavirus detected on mink farms in Poland.

The outbreak was detected in two farms which hold a total of 8,000 breeding females and 29,000 young mink, both located at the same address in the Biała-Podlaska district.

The presence of the virus was discovered from the results of laboratory tests carried out at the State Veterinary Institute in Puławy. The samples were collected on June 16, as part of ongoing disease control procedures put in place after the dramatic outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 across European mink farms in 2020.

The inspectorate reported that "all control procedures foreseen in the event of SARS-CoV-2 in mink" had been implemented on the farms where the infection was identified.

The local veterinary inspector confirmed that all mink on these farms, a total of around 37,000 animals, will be culled.

Earlier this year Eurogroup for Animals and the Fur Free Alliance released a scientific statement on public health risks associated with SARS-CoV-2 and intensive mink production, signed by numerous scientists from the fields of virology, infectious diseases, clinical microbiology, veterinary medicine and environmental health. 

Despite the mandatory SARS-CoV-2 screening of all European mink farms introduced by the European Commission, in addition to the introduction of more stringent disease prevention methods, this outbreak demonstrates that the risk of continued spread of the virus on fur farms is still extremely high.

We are calling on the European Commission to act immediately to suspend mink farming across the European Union to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, to protect human and animal health.