Are Corona-infected mink carcasses ending up in biodiesel?

In January of this year, PETA was able to show, using leaked video footage, that Rendac Jagel GmbH, based in Schleswig-Holstein, imports skinned minks from Danish fur farms and processes them for the production of biodiesel.

However, the Schleswig-Holstein state government informed PETA in March 2020 that it would not impose a ban on the import of mink carcasses. It has recently come to light that a mutated version of the coronavirus has emerged on Danish fur farms and has already spread to humans. Denmark is therefore currently in the process of culling all 15 to 17 million minks on its fur farms. PETA is now once again urgently calling on the Schleswig-Holstein state government to halt the import of animal carcasses — many of which are presumed to be contaminated with the coronavirus — from Danish fur farms.

Fur farms are ideal breeding grounds for pathogens. Sick and stressed animals are confined in tiny cages lined up side by side, allowing viruses to spread easily from animal to animal and to mutate. Against this backdrop, we are once again strongly urging the Schleswig-Holstein state government to immediately stop the import of dead minks from Denmark.

Dr. Edmund Haferbeck, Head of the Legal and Science Department at PETA.

Fur farms as a pandemic risk

Worldwide, more than 100 million animals are killed on fur farms every year. Many of them eke out a miserable existence in tiny cages, beneath which mountains of urine and faeces accumulate, exposing the animals to the stench day after day. The systematic mistreatment of animals in the fur industry is a global animal welfare problem.

Fur farm bans are increasing across Europe

After the viral disease Covid-19 spread rapidly over the past months to fur farms in the Netherlands, USA, Spain, and Denmark, the Dutch government acted swiftly and shortened the transition period for an already-enacted fur farm ban by more than three years. The last mink farms there will close by March 2021. In Germany, too, there have been no active farm operations since 2019 due to stricter regulations for fur farm operators. Numerous other European countries such as Austria, Serbia, and Slovenia have already introduced fur farm bans.

Through publications exposing industrial abuses and awareness campaigns, PETA has already inspired many international fashion houses and designers to embrace animal-free fashion. Gucci, Donatella Versace, Michael Kors, and Burberry no longer use fur in their collections. Award-winning designer Stella McCartney has also turned her back on leather. The animal rights movement is gaining influence worldwide, as demonstrated by the growing awareness of wildlife as well.