Denmark in U-Turn: Drops EU Exemption Bid, Will End Mink Farming by August 2029
COPENHAGEN — The Danish government announced on October 23 that it will no longer seek an EU exemption for mink farming, meaning the once-dominant global producer will end the industry entirely by August 2029. The EU listed the American mink as an invasive species in 2025, with the ban taking effect on August 7, 2027; Denmark is giving farmers a two-year transition until August 2029.
"Businesses should not continue to exist simply because they have existed for a long time," said Nature Minister Christian Rabjerg Madsen. Denmark was once the world's largest mink-pelt producer; in 2020 it culled about 15 million mink over a mutated coronavirus.
Only seven farms with about 15,000 mink remain. Notably, Finland applied for an exemption in the opposite direction last month.
(GSM, from the BBC and the Danish government)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美洲水貂（资料图）。照片：Patrick Reijnders，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / American mink (file photo). Photo: Patrick Reijnders, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
