MEP: Mink case shows we need common ground for disease prevention in EU


MEP Asger Christensen (Renew) said the handling of mink during the current Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated very different approaches to disease prevention between European countries. This calls for increased European coordination in the future. "The pandemic has revealed that different countries have different approaches to the situation, both when we talk about the human side and animal productions. We should exchange knowledge and experience to establish a common ground for the handling of such situations in the future. However, I would like to emphasize that I am against any ban from the EU on the production of fur. This is solely a member state competence," he said. As a Danish dairy farmer with mink farming neighbours and -friends, he has even participated in the culling of Danish mink. The decision to cull all mink in Denmark was announced by the Danish government on the 4th of November and has remained widely questioned in the Danish debate ever since. MEP Asger Christensen is also critical towards the decision, which he describes as surprising and awful. "The situation and the decision-making process has received sharp criticism in Denmark. There has been a lack of second opinions and verification of the scientific foundation for the decisions made. Denmark is a small country, and we need outside perspectives. Too few people have been involved in the process. I think the government exaggerated the drama, for example when they said Northern Jutland could become the new Wuhan because of cluster-5," he said. There is, however, no turning back from the decision at this point. There will be no mink production in Denmark until at least 2022. Yet, there are good reasons to take away the learnings and put current experiences into future perspectives. At the moment an EC working paper on mink farming is underway, and Asger Christensen thinks it will point to increased international coordination. "I expect the report will point to a lack of common European coordination for this situation. We have a common strategy already in other areas like foot-and-mouth disease, where we have a precise manual for what we must do during outbreaks. We should have a better common ground to address such situations, rather than dealing with them from border to border," he said.