World’s largest fur auctioneer to shut down after link between Covid & mink is discovered

World’s largest fur auction house, Kopenhagen Fur, announced that it will be shutting down after the government’s order of culling the country's mink population due to fear of mutation. As per CEO Jesper Lauge, this means that 300 people will be losing their jobs. The mutated version of COVID-19 was detected at mink farms in Denmark's North Jutland region, following which authorities had ordered culling of the animals. Also, the Danish government had imposed a stricter lockdown in parts of the country where a new strain of coronavirus was discovered in the mink population.

Kopenhagen fur to shutdown eventually 

As per the official website of Kopenhagen fur, CEO Lauge said, “As a company, we are in operation and are looking into a completely normal sales season, where we offer the world's finest mink skins, as we usually do. Our sorters are ready to receive the skins and the auction team is already working deep into the detailed planning, says Jesper Lauge”. The loss of mink population would mean a loss to the ownership base. Therefore, the organization decided to downsize the company and then eventually shut it down within 2-3 years. Lauge further said, “The company’s very strong financial platform and the values ​​that the company's owners, the Danish mink breeders, have built up in the company over generations - and which have made Kopenhagen Fur a world leader - must then rightfully accrue to the owners who are in an extreme and unusually difficult situation."

Read: Main Cooperative Selling Mink To Shut Down Due To Culling

Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had informed that it is in touch with Danish officials over the new mutated version of COVID-19 discovered in the country. WHO also informed that several cases of animal-to-human transmission have been reported in the region. Also, they added that this could impact the effectiveness of the ongoing vaccine development programmes being carried out across the globe. 

Read: UK Bans Travel From Denmark Amid Mutated Coronavirus Outbreak From Mink To Humans

This is not the first time that COVID-19 cases have been detected in minks. Earlier, mink farms in Spain and the Netherlands also reported COVID cases among animals and staff members. Officials in both countries also opted for the culling of the mink population at farms, where the cases were detected in order to prevent further animal-to-human transmissions. 

Read: Denmark Announces Lockdown After COVID-19 Outbreak In Mink Farms

Also Read: Denmark: Submarine Killer Peter Madsen Briefly Escapes Prison

(Image Credits: kopenhagenfur.com)