How should mink breeding continue in the coming years? Parties in the House of Representatives are struggling with this question.
No Member of Parliament disputes the fact that the now infected companies must be eliminated in connection with public health and the coronavirus. There is debate about what to do next.
Years ago, politicians already decided that companies should be completely closed from 2024; until then, a transitional arrangement applies. Minks actually live in the water, but are kept in cages and bred solely for their fur. Politicians no longer consider this acceptable in connection with animal welfare.
Stay empty
It has now been established for a number of parties that the culled farms will no longer have to be refilled with new animals. “The cages are now empty and the cages must remain empty,” said party chairman Ouwehand of the Party for the Animals. “This is the right time to quit now,” says PVV MP Graus.
Other parties, including GroenLinks, D66, and PvdA, are also thinking of shutting down the companies before 2024. They want to hear from the minister how much money that would cost.
For VVD and CDA, the buyout is not yet completely certain. Stopping early can cost a lot of money. According to VVD Member of Parliament Lodders, it is inevitable that companies will now be culled, but consideration must also be given to compensation for the affected companies.
Stoppers scheme
Lodders points out that there is “a lot of severe suffering” among mink breeders and wants a “decent settlement” in return. Government party ChristenUnie also believes that there should be a “just stopping arrangement” for the cleared companies. She wants Minister Schouten to discuss this with the sector.
Such extra compensation is coalition partner D66 against the sore leg. D66 MP Groot does not see that money would be allocated to support an industry that should stop in a few years. He thinks it is an amount between 200 and 300 million euros. “It is really a dilemma. It is about tax money and you can also spend that on culture or nature.”
Fur market collapsed
Opposition party SP believes that the current market situation and entrepreneurial risk must be taken into account when buying out the companies. The fur market has collapsed in many countries, such as China. “The compensation must take into account that the sector is structurally loss-making,” said SP MP Futselaar.
The parties have many questions and are now discussing them with the Ministers of Health and Schouten of Agriculture.
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