You will find this article in the Podcast as Wildlife Matters Investigates
Has Corona Virus ‘killed off’ the Fur Trade forever?
According to a 2016 report released by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 75% of China’s wildlife trade is dominated by fur production, with animals farmed for their fur, such as raccoon dogs, foxes and mink, often ending up at wildlife wet market.
Transmission of the virus from mink to humans and mutations related to mink were first documented in the Netherlands, which prompted the government to bring forward to the end of 2020 a ban on mink farming scheduled to go into effect in 2024.
After the discovery in the Netherlands, the authorities in Denmark initiated a large-scale surveillance program of all mink farms in the country, with regular testing and genomic sequencing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that cases of minks ill with COVID-19 had been documented in Utah in August 2020.
In November 2020, COVID-19 infections in mink had been reported in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. (China, the world’s most prominent fur farmer, is notable by the absence of any reports on coronavirus in other species).
This prompted Denmark to announce its intention to cull all mink in the country’s mink farms – as many as 17 million.
All 207 mink farms in Jutland were affected – and at least five cases of the new virus strain were found. The Danish government confirmed Twelve people had been infected.
Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said the mutated virus posed a “risk to the effectiveness” of a future Covid-19 vaccine. Ms Frederiksen cited a government report which stated the mutated virus had been found to weaken the body’s ability to form antibodies, potentially making the current vaccines under development for Covid-19 ineffective.
Fur Farms – The Facts
Over 50 million Mink a year are bred for their fur, mainly in China, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland. In November 2020, outbreaks were reported in fur farms in the Netherlands. Every year, more than 50 million minks are bred for their fur, with China, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Poland being the primary producers.
In November 2020, there were reports of outbreaks in fur farms across the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, and the US, resulting in the culling of millions of animals.
Like humans, they can show various symptoms, from no signs of illness to severe problems, such as pneumonia.
Mink became infected by catching the virus from humans. But genetic detective work has shown that in a small number of cases, firstly, in the Netherlands and now Denmark, the virus seems to have passed the other way, from Mink to humans. In October 2020, it was revealed that lions and tigers at a New York zoo had caught COVID-19 from their keepers.
Covid Cluster 5
“Cluster 5” is the name given to a mutated variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was discovered in Northern Jutland, Denmark, and is believed to have been spread from mink to humans via mink farms.
On 4 November 2020, it was announced that the mink population in Denmark would be culled to prevent the possible spread of this mutation and reduce the risk of new conversions.
The World Health Organisation stated that Cluster 5 has a “moderately decreased sensitivity to neutralising antibodies”. Denmark’s State Serum Institute (SSI) warned that the mutation could reduce the effect of COVID-19 vaccines under development. However, it was unlikely to render them useless.
Covid 19 Cluster 5 Name and mutations
In Denmark, there have been five clusters of mink variants of SARS-CoV-2; the Danish State Serum Institute (SSI) has designated these as clusters 1–5 (Danish: cluster 1-5). Among these variants, seven different mutations in the virus spike protein have been confirmed.
The specific mutations mentioned were del 69–70 (a deletion of the histidine and valine residues at the 69th and 70th position in the protein), Y453F (a change from tyrosine to phenylalanine at position 453, inside the spike protein’s receptor-binding domain), I692V (isoleucine to valine at position 692), and M1229I (methionine to isoleucine at position 1229).
‘Cluster 5’
Several mutations in mink have been discovered within the coronavirus that do not arise in humans. However, tests have found that patient antibodies responded less well to Cluster 5, and further laboratory investigations are being carried out.
How different is Cluster 5 from the more common strain of Covid-19? At first, scientists thought the way the virus looked clinically, its severity and transmission rate among those infected was similar to that of other circulating SARS-CoV-2 viruses.
However, further studies have shown it has a combination of mutations that were not previously observed.
Initially, mink were infected after coming into contact with infected humans. Other animals, including dogs, cats, lions, and tigers, have contracted Covid-19 via respiratory droplets. Mink can act as a reservoir of SARS-CoV-2, passing the virus between them, and pose a risk for virus spill-over from mink to humans.
As viruses move between human and animal populations, genetic modifications can occur. It’s not that surprising that mink have been infected. The list of mammal species infected during the 2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak was at least 16, including mink, palm civets, fruit bats, several species of horseshoe bats, red fox, wild boar, raccoon dogs, and domestic cats and dogs.
Officials in The Netherlands believe mink contracted the illness from farm workers, and the farms have since been put into quarantine.
The Netherlands stopped the creation of new mink farms in 2013, while existing mink fur farms had until 2024 to close. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the closures have been brought forward, and all mink farming in The Netherlands stopped at the end of 2020.
World Health Authority – WHO
In their statement released on 6th November 2020, the World Health Authority (WHO) stated that; “Initial observations suggest that the clinical presentation, severity, and transmission among those infected are similar to that of other circulating SARS-CoV-2 viruses,” “However, the ‘cluster 5’ variant, has a combination of mutations, or changes that have not been previously observed. The implications of the identified changes in this variant are not yet well understood,”
The UN said preliminary findings indicated this mink-associated variant has “moderately decreased sensitivity to neutralising antibodies”.
WHO called for further studies to verify the preliminary findings and “to understand any potential implications of this finding in terms of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines in development”, adding, “Although the virus is believed to be ancestrally linked to bats, its origin and intermediate host(s) of SARS-CoV-2 have not yet been identified,”
According to the WHO statement, since June 2020, there have been 214 human cases of Covid-19 in Denmark with SARS-CoV-2, or Covid-19, variants associated with farmed mink. Of those, 12 patients had a unique variant, with all those cases identified in September 2020 in North Jutland, Denmark.
The virus was found in the unique variant in people aged 7 to 79 years, eight were linked to the mink farming industry, and four cases were from the local community.
Mink Culls
In fur farms, Denmark has ordered the culling of all mink animals, which are estimated to be around 17.5 million individuals. One in five Danish fur farms has recorded COVID-19 infections in Mink.
But this problem wasn’t new – back in July 2020, Spain culled 100,000 mink after cases were detected at a farm in Aragón province. Tens of thousands of the animals were slaughtered in the Netherlands following outbreaks on farms there. The US then confirmed COVID cases in farmed Mink in Utah in August 2020.
Poland has found 18 coronavirus cases among mink farm workers as it continues animal tests.
While the authorities have not yet received the results of the animal tests, they said that COVID-19 cases were confirmed among people connected with the farms. Poland is one of the world’s top mink fur producers, with 354 farms containing around 6 million Mink.
Ireland’s Department of Agriculture has informed the owners of three mink farms in Ireland that their animals are to be culled to halt the potential spread of a mutated form of Covid-19. Irish CMS, Dr Holohan, said: ‘The move would be advised as the presence of farmed mink presents an ongoing risk to public health” Dr Holohan went on to state “that all mink should be culled as a matter of urgency”.
Why this should be the end of Fur farming
One of the lessons we must learn from COVID-19 is that we cannot carry on pushing animals to the limit of their endurance without severe consequences for both animal and human health.
The Fur trade reported a turnover of almost $1bn (£750m) in 2018-19. Furs are sold to the garment industry and used in various products, including false eyelash products. China and Hong Kong are the most important markets.
Coronavirus outbreaks have already spelt the end of the mink industry in the Netherlands. The UK and Austria banned fur production years ago, Germany has phased it out, and Belgium, France and Norway plan to.
Now it’s time for countries like Denmark, Poland, the USA and China to end this horrific trade in animal furs and pelts.
The appalling conditions and lack of space these animals are forced to live in, the mutations of coat colours they endure through breeding, and the brutal execution methods, including an electrical probe inserted into the anus to avoid damaging the pelt, have no place in any society.
We do not need to wear fur; many alternatives look and perform equal to, or better than, fur. It seems odd to me that wearing the fur of a dead animal could ever be considered ‘glamorous.’
Now that fur farming has stopped and no longer has ‘live animals, ’ this is the time to end the trade for good. In addition to animal suffering, the potential for disease spread is another reason for all fashion companies to go fur-free NOW!
Further Reading
Mink, SARS-CoV-2, and the Human-Animal Interface
Florence Fenollar Oleg Mediannikov Max Maurin Christian Devaux Philippe Colson Anthony Levasseur Pierre-Edouard Fournier Didier Raoult
Fur Free Alliance Covid 19 on Mink Farms
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on mink farms between humans and mink and back to humans
OIE Statement on COVID-19 and mink (2020)
World Organisation for Animal Health
SARS-CoV-2 in animals used for fur farming (2021)
World Health Organisation Risk Assessment
Risk related to spread of new SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in the EU/EEA (2020)
Risk assessment by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
SARS-CoV-2 spillover events (2020)
Publication in Science written by Peng Zhou and Zheng-Li Shi
SARS-CoV-2 and the human-animal interface: outbreaks on mink farms (2020)
Publication in The Lancet by M. Koopmans
International scientists call for EU emergency measures: read their statement.
BAS B. OUDE MUNNINK HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-9394-1189 , REINA S. SIKKEMA, DAVID F. NIEUWENHUIJSE HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-1310-5031, ROBERT JAN MOLENAAR HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-0336-1226, EMMANUELLE MUNGER HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-4428-8988, RICHARD MOLENKAMP HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-9004-3850, ARCO VAN DER SPEK, PAULIEN TOLSMA, ARIENE RIETVELD HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-3142-352X, MIRANDA BROUWER, NOORTJE BOUWMEESTER-VINCKEN, FRANK HARDERS, RENATE HAKZE-VAN DER HONING, MARJOLEIN C. A. WEGDAM-BLANS HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-0193-2710, RUTH J. BOUWSTRA HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-1749-5789, CORINE GEURTSVANKESSEL, ANNEMIEK A. VAN DER EIJK, FRANCISCA C. VELKERS HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-2923-3233, LIDWIEN A. M. SMIT HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-0292-0946, ARJAN STEGEMAN HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0003-4361-3846, WIM H. M. VAN DER POEL HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-7498-8002, AND MARION P. G. KOOPMANS HTTPS://ORCID.ORG/0000-0002-5204-2312
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