Finland’s food agency has ordered the slaughter of all minks on farms where cases of bird flu have been detected, in order to curb the spread of the virus in fur farms. Tens of thousands of animals are to be culled.
In a press release, the authority explained that mink are particularly susceptible to avian and human influenza viruses due to the characteristics of their respiratory tracts. They could become an effective intermediate host for avian flu and allow the virus to mutate into a form that could infect humans.
To prevent such variants, the agency stressed the importance of culling all mink on infected fur farms. The culling of foxes and tanuki on farms will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
According to the Finnish public media Ylen, around 70,000 animals are to be slaughtered. Avian flu was detected in 20 fur farms at the end of July.
As previously reported, the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) for a Fur Free Europe was recently closed after one year of campaigning reaching over 1,5 million of valid signatures in 18 EU member states. By the end of 2023, the European Commission is expected to publish its legislative proposal on the revision of EU’s animal welfare legislation, including a ban on fur farming and on the placing and marketing of farmed fur products in the European market.
