The Mink Crisis

During the corona crisis, on November 4, 2020, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced at a press conference that all Danish mink would be killed. The decision was a result of the discovery of coronavirus in Danish mink in the summer of 2020. The Statens Seruminstitut (SSI) subsequently announced that mink and humans were able to infect each other. Events escalated when it was discovered that the virus was also able to mutate in the mink and infect humans with the changed virus. This was the first mutation of coronavirus to hit Denmark. The government and authorities feared that the mutation would pose a risk that a future vaccine would not work. In addition, the government feared for Denmark's international economic and political position if the mutation was allowed to spread.

After the announcement on November 4, 2020, culling was immediately initiated on the infected farms. In the following weeks and months, Danes could witness mink farmers breaking down on the open screen through press coverage as their life's work was destroyed overnight. Home recordings of violent culling by Danish Food Agency staff, dead mink dropped on country roads and piles of dead mink on farms were shared by the media and on social media. Tractor demonstrations in several places in the country aimed to stop the government and hold it accountable. The government was criticized by the opposition for not having had the legal authority to order the mink cull, and the crisis had, according to statements from, among others, the conservative health spokesman Per Larsen, driven three mink farmers to suicide.

The debate raged on both sides. The media and social media were flooded with claims, opinions and emotions about the mink case. But what is truth and what is myth?

History is not just something that happened hundreds of years ago. History is happening right now and right before our eyes. The corona pandemic and the mink case are a good example of this. All Danes have been affected by the crisis. It has squeezed its way into our lives and has changed everyday life as we know it.

The mink case has been among the most discussed stories in the autumn and winter of 2020/2021. The government's handling of the case has been highlighted domestically as a threat to the Constitution. Foreign-policy, the mink case became an example of how fragile Denmark is in a global context if the rest of the world refuses to trade with us for fear of a new virus mutation.

This course aims to provide students in upper secondary education with tools to identify and analyze the mink case as it has been presented in the public debate. They learn to be critical of sources when interpreting the case by the media, private individuals and politicians. This is particularly relevant at a time when the phenomenon of fake news is dominating the flow of information on social media. Finally, the material aims to develop students' abilities to view a case from as many perspectives as possible, to work critically with sources, to identify historical usage and to participate in a constructive debate.

The teaching process is based on the taxonomic levels. Students must first acquire knowledge through the source material and account for this. They must analyze the key points of the case and identify examples of historical use, spin, etc. Finally, they must prepare a discussion by contrasting the different points of view.

Use the source material to answer the following questions. Justify your choice of sources as you go.

A. Use at least three sources to explain the development of Danish mink breeding as well as the spread of Covid-19 in Danish mink and the subsequent process in 2020/2021. What happened and why?

B. Use at least four sources to illustrate whether the decision to cull all Danish mink was necessary. Also include why the government ended up with this decision and what consequences the decision had? Discuss in continuation whether the cull of all Danish mink was the right decision?

C. Discuss the media's coverage of the mink case based on your knowledge from the source package. Find one or more new sources to supplement the source package.
What perspectives, emotions, threats, etc. have characterized the public media coverage?
In your opinion, has the media coverage and political statements been representative of the process – why/why not? Have you found examples of fake news?

D. Draw a conclusion to the assignment. What is the importance of comparing multiple sources to understand a historical event? What is the consequence of omitting sources? Justify your answer.

Source 1.: Timeline of the development of the corona pandemic, The Green Museum

Chronological overview of international and national events related to Covid-19

 

Source 2.: The history of the minker industry, Det Grønne Museum

Brief summary of the history of the fur industry and the development of mink breeding in Denmark.

 

Source 3: Risk assessment from the Danish National Serum Institute, November 3, 2020

SSI's assessment of the significance of coronavirus in mink for public health.

 

Source 4: Press conference, Prime Minister's Office, November 4, 2020

The Prime Minister's statement on and justification for the culling of all Danish mink.

 

Source 5: Open letter to Minister of Food and Agriculture Rasmus Prehn, December 14, 2020

Conscripts from the Danish Emergency Management Agency describe the conditions they experienced on the mink farms in connection with the emergency culls.

 

Source 6: Facebook post by politician Pernille Vermund from Nye Borgerlige, November 4, 2020

Example of an opposition politician's protest against the government's order to kill all Danish mink.

 

Source 7: Detektor podcast: The Suicide Mystery, December 19, 2020 (Audio recording)

The journalists at Detektor investigate the claim of three suicides among mink breeders.

https://www.dr.dk/radio/p1/detektor-radio/detektor-2020-12-18

 

Source 8: Interview with Erik Westergaard, mink breeder at Gjøl, December 16, 2020 (Audio recording)

Erik Westergaard owns and operates a mink farm in Gjøl in North Jutland. His father was among the first mink farmers in Denmark and Erik has worked with mink since he was a child. In 2021, the plan was for Erik's farm to be passed on to the 3rd generation. In the Interview, Erik Westergaard talks about his view of the mink industry and how he experienced the emergency culls.

The interview comes from the collection of The Green Museum.

 

Source 9: Interview with Erik Vammen, mink breeder near Hobro, January 22, 2021 (Audio recording)

Erik Vammen is a mink breeder and has two farms near Hobro in North Jutland, which he runs with his girlfriend, Gitte. Erik has appeared frequently in the media in 2020/2021, when he refused to kill his minks before a law was finally passed. In the interview, Erik Vammen talks about why he kept his minks alive, despite the government's announcement. By order of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Erik Vammen's mink was killed on February 2, 2021.

The interview comes from the collection of The Green Museum.

 

Source 10: Interview with Joh Vinding, director of Anima, January 29, 2021 (Audio recording)

Joh Vinding is the director of the animal welfare organization, Anima. In the interview, he talks about why the mink industry should not be legal in Denmark and Anima's general position on mink in cages.

The interview comes from the collection of The Green Museum.

 

Source 11: Home recording of the Hastea Killings on the Danish mink farms, November 1, 2020 (Film)

Mink breeder Brian Langballe Kristensen from Thisted filmed and photographed the conditions during the forced culling of mink on his farm. The images were shown in a report on TV2. https://nyheder.tv2.dk/lokalt/2020-11-01-nu-hober-de-doede-mink-sig-op-i-kaempe-bunker-det-er-det-mest-vanvittige-jeg-har