Danish mink breeders will receive up to DKK 19 billion in compensation after millions of mink have been killed in the fight against the coronavirus.
The amount corresponds to more than NOK 26 billion. Negotiations on the agreement have been going on in the Danish parliament (Folketing) for several months.
However, before the compensation can be paid out, the European Union (EU) must approve the scheme.
About 17 million mink have been killed due to fears that the mutated coronavirus variant could spread among humans.
It was uncertain whether the developed vaccines would be effective against the mutated variant.
Denmark has about 1,000 mink breeders. All of them lost their livelihood when the government decided that all mink in the country should be killed.
Now, all the mink breeders can apply for compensation. Still, since it is not yet clear how much each individual will receive, the government has calculated that the agreement will cost Danish taxpayers between NOK 15.6 and NOK 18.8 billion.
New mink farms
The agreement also contains a scheme that will allow mink breeders who wish to start a new mink farm when the corona pandemic is over.
The closure of Denmark’s mink farms also meant that an export industry with a turnover of almost DKK 5 billion was lost.
The mink have been deposited into mass graves, which risked contaminating the groundwater in some areas of Jutland.
In November of last year, the Danish government ordered that all mink in Denmark must be killed.
However, it turned out that there was no legal basis for the order, which led to criticism aimed at Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
The scandal ended with the Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries Mogens Jensen resigning.
Source: #Norway Today, #NorwayTodayNews
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