Spain orders culling of nearly 100,000 mink after farmworkers, animals test COVID positive

Spain on July 16 ordered killing of nearly 1,00,000 mink after a number of animals from a farm tested positive for coronavirus. According to reports, Spanish authorities issued the culling order on Thursday seven people working on the farm along with the animals tested positive for COVID-19. The farm cluster was found in the Spanish region of Aragon after random testing was conducted on animals and workers on July 7. As per reports, the farm was shut down in May and the initial result came out negative, following which more tests were conducted in the first week of July which turned out to be positive. 

Read: Dutch Authorities Order Culling Of 10,000 Mink Over COVID-19 Risk

The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, and Environment in a statement reportedly said that 92,700 mink will be slaughtered in the latest culling effort to contain the spread of the deadly virus. The July 7 testing of animals resulted in 78 positive cases out of the 90 mink that were tested. Spanish authorities said that it has not yet been identified whether the transmission was from human to animal or vice versa. 

Read: Dutch Authorities Suspect Minks With COVID-19 May Have Passed Virus To Humans

Similar incident in the Netherlands

Earlier in May, over one million mink were slaughtered in the Netherlands after authorities suspected that an animal in one of the farms may have infected a human with coronavirus. Mass testing across mink farms in the country was conducted resulting in the culling of thousands of animals. Following an investigation into the matter, the Dutch government said that it is possible that the transmission happened from mink to human. 

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