Danes can breathe a sigh of relief – minks have been excavated

The news agency “Ritzau” reported that, on Monday, an end to the excavations of dead mink animals in Denmark.

In the fall, more than 15 million Danish minks were killed, after a mutant version of the Covid-19 coronavirus spread from minks to humans.

Most of the dead mink went to cremation, but because the facilities couldn’t handle the scale, about four million minks were buried on Gotland.

Schedule kept

He was afraid that liquid would leak from the corpses, which might contaminate the waterways. Therefore, they chose to dig up the mink and send it to burn.

Despite the summer heat, the stench wasn’t quite as horrific as expected, according to Danish Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Rasmus Prehn. The fossils have been described as “completely unproblematic” due to the fact that the mink has not yet completely dissolved.

“People in the affected areas have had to go through a lot and I am relieved that the schedule has held,” Rasmus Prehn says in a press release from the Fødevarestyrelsen authority.

Expensive bill and uncertain consequences

The cost of the mink mess has not yet been fully determined, but according to Ritsau, the expenses for the killing itself, that is, cleaning, disinfection, and equipment, amounted to SEK 800 million.

An investigation is now underway to find out the consequences of the mass graves of mink. Soil samples should be analyzed to see if carcasses of dead animals have caused environmental problems and if action is needed.