The coronavirus pandemic has already claimed more than a million human lives, but we aren't the only living things in danger from COVID-19: minks² are being killed off in their thousands because of the spread of the virus.

 

新冠大流行病已经夺走了超过100万人的生命，但人类并非唯一受新冠病毒威胁的生物：由于病毒的传播，已经有成千上万的水貂被宰杀。

 

NBC News reports on the deaths of almost 10,000 minks at farms in Utah in the US, while the picture in Europe has been even bleaker³ according to Sky News – at a farm in Spain, for example, over 92,000 of the animals have been slaughtered⁴ after it was estimated that 90 percent of them had caught the virus.

 

In the Netherlands, the death toll⁵ has been even higher: over 1 million mink¹ have been culled⁶ in the country over concerns that the animals could pass the virus back to humans, as per an AP report. World Health Organisation⁷ epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove has said the risk of catching⁸ COVID-19 from an animal remains⁹ "very limited".

 

In the case of the Utah outbreak, it covers nine fur farms and has been thought to have been caused by the virus being passed on from an infected handler. The first signs of the virus spreading to minks in the region were spotted¹⁰ back in August.

 

COVID-19 affects minks in a similar way to people, causing respiratory problems that tend to be worse in older animals. The mustelids group, which includes minks, weasels and badgers¹¹, is known to be at particular risk of catching the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

 

"Minks show open mouth breathing, discharge from their eyes and nose, and are not sick for several days before they pass away," Utah veterinarian Dean Taylor told NBC News. "They typically die within the next day."

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