User:S k y r/Workzone/The Mink Case
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The Mink Case (Danish: Minksagen) is a series of incidents involving orders issued by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on 4 November 2020 for the slaughter of all mink in Denmark, during the coronavirus pandemic. On the previous day, a risk assessment had been conducted by the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), concluding that "continued mink breeding during an ongoing covid-19 epidemic poses a significant risk to public health". However, on 8 November, it was then announced that the orders had been issued without a legal basis (Danish: lovhjemmel) and that it had instead been a political decision to kill all mink, as that had not been the SSI's recommendation.
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The government then put forward a bill which, with its adoption on 21 December 2020, established legal authority behind the decisions. In the intervening period, the slaughter had continued illegally with the help of the police and other authorities. Later, some of the mink that had been buried were exhumed and incinerated.
Mette Frederiksen stated on 24 August 2022 that she would like to "discuss whether it is a scandal". On 30 August of the same year, she described the case as "a political scandal".[citation needed]
The ban on mink breeding continued until the end of 2021, and was then extended until 2022. As of 2022, the mink case is estimated to cost the Danish state approximately kr. 20 billion (US$3 billion). All compensation to the mink breeders is expected to be paid by 2027.[citation needed]