Mass Mink Cull Ordered on Dutch Farms to Stem Coronavirus Spread

(Bloomberg) --

The Netherlands ordered a mass mink cull to extinguish a coronavirus outbreak linked to at least two human cases, hastening the demise of an industry ordered to cease by 2024.

Culling will start Friday and cover nine farms raising the semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals for their soft pelts, the Dutch government said in a statement. The cull will prevent a “reservoir” of SARS-CoV-2 virus on farms, which could endanger public health, it said.

Infected mink don't necessarily develop signs of disease, making them potential silent sources of the pandemic virus, said Arjan Stegeman, a veterinary epidemiologist at Utrecht University who is investigating the outbreak. An infected farm worker is thought to have introduced the virus to mink, which subsequently spread it to two -- possibly four -- people linked to the farms, he said.

The outbreak began around April 19, when signs of respiratory disease were reported among mink on two farms located near each other in the province of Noord-Brabant, close to the Belgian border. Cats roaming around farmyards may have transferred the virus between farms, some of which are located 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) apart. Seven of 24 cats tested had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, indicating exposure to the virus, Stegeman said Thursday in a phone interview.

The detection of the virus on nine farms owned by seven companies was the result of nationwide surveillance ordered by the government last month. The Netherlands has 127 mink farms, raising an average of about 5,000 adult mink, Stegeman said.

A female typically gives birth to five or six pups in April-May, which are culled for their pelts the following November. By then, the animals might have lost any immune protection received from their mother's milk, making them vulnerable to infection.

Industry Termination

The Dutch Parliament decided in 2013 on animal welfare grounds that the industry couldn't expand, and ordered it to be disbanded entirely by January 2024. The government is investigating the possibility of a program enabling mink companies to voluntarily terminate their business early, Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Carola Schouten, and Minister of Public Health, Hugo de Jonge, said in Wednesday's statement.

Farms not infected with the coronavirus have been ordered to implement strict biosecurity and surveillance measures to prevent further spread.