COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday defended her decision to order a nationwide cull across Denmark’s mink farms a year ago over coronavirus concerns before appearing before a commission of inquiry.
The government ordered the cull of some 17 million mink to forestall the uncontrollable spread of a mutated variant of the coronavirus, all but destroying an industry recognised in the fashion industry around the world for its high-quality furs.
“We were unfortunately forced to make a decision a year ago about the culling of all mink,” she told reporters before entering the court where the commission is sitting. “It was the right decision, and now I will go in and answer the questions.”
While Danes broadly approved of Frederiksen’s initial handling of the pandemic, the government was thrown into political turmoil when it emerged that there had been no legal basis to order the cull of healthy mink.
The incident eventually led to the exit of the agriculture minister and parliament commissioned an inquiry into whether ministers including Frederiksen had known that the legal framework was absent.
Outside the court in Copenhagen, protesters carried placards reading “Why is Mette lying?” and “Who controls Mette?”.
The commission, made up of a judge, lawyers and a legal experts, is due to finish its investigation in April.
(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Stine Jacobsen)
