Mark has no idea how his mink contracted the coronavirus

These are difficult times for Mark * from Landhorst in the municipality of Sint-Anthonis. He is one of the mink farmers in East Brabant whose Pentecost weekend became known that his animals contracted the corona virus. He has no idea how his animals got the virus among the members.

“It was cold on my roof. But now that it has been established, I think that good measures should be taken as soon as possible and that we should sit around the table for this. ” Mark does not use the word ‘reaming’, but he does take it seriously. “What has to be done has to be done.”

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Mandatory screening
Mark has yet to recover from the results of the investigation at his company. Since the discovery that humans can also contract COVID-19 through mink, all mink farms in the Netherlands have to be investigated. The inspectors also visited Mark.

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“On Saturday I was told there was a suspicion. The next day, at the end of the afternoon, it was finally determined that the virus had also entered my company. That hit hard, a damper, a surprise too. ”

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“Waiting for results”
Mark does not know how the virus could affect his breeding. “My father passed away in March and he had corona. We would have had our portion with that. But whether I or someone else in my family also contracted the virus because of this? I do not know. We have now passed an extensive test and we are now waiting for the results. ”

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So these are exciting days for Mark. For example, ministers Hugo de Jonge and Carola Schouten will announce on Wednesday which national measures they will take to prevent the virus from spreading further to and through minks.

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‘Takes way too long’
“It is best for everyone to get clarity quickly. For my family, my employees, the sector and my animals. Their health is also important. It is about people and animals. It has all taken too long, “says Mark, who sees the end of his company approaching due to the coronavirus infection. As of 2024, mink breeding will be prohibited in the Netherlands. Corona can ensure that the remediation of the sector can be accelerated.

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“But then better agreements have to be made than the scrapping and conversion regulations as established years ago. My company was valued at a considerable amount before the announced ban, without animals and machines, but due to the demolition and conversion scheme as it is about to come, I still have to put money on it. You were purely capital destruction. ”

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* Mink owner Mark does not want to be called by his full name. His name is known to the editors.

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