Veterinary Ireland has renewed its call on the government to shut down Ireland’s three remaining fur farms.
The representative body for veterinary surgeons in Ireland is pushing for the closures amid growing fears over the possible spread of a mutated strain of COVID19. The mutated version, detected on mink fur farms in Denmark, could undermine the effectiveness of vaccines in development if it becomes dominant.
Speaking on the “Today with Claire Byrne” show on RTE Radio 1 this morning, Dr Mark Dalton, spokesperson for Veterinary Ireland, said that the fur farms here should be shut down as soon as possible.
“So the best option for Ireland at this moment in time would be to cull the minks on farms. Is that what you’re saying?” Claire Byrne asked.
“It is - as soon as is practically possible, yes,” Dr Dalton replied.
He said that “there was already an imperative on welfare grounds” to close the fur farms and now “there’s an added imperative”.
“The downside is so potentially huge,” he added.
Outlining the situation in Denmark where all the country’s mink are being culled, he stated: “They’ve had about 200 positive farms in Denmark and of those 200, five have shown this mutant variant. They’ve had six workers who have tested positive for the mutant variant. And very significantly, those six people have infected six other people. So that’s community transmission. That’s why they are taking it so seriously in Denmark and locking it down.”
Listen to the full interview at
https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/21863256
In appeals to the Taoiseach and Ministers for Health and Agriculture, ICABS called for the fur farms to be immediately shut.
“It would be unforgivable if this course of action was not followed and a mutated version of the virus emerged in Ireland, causing further infections, deaths, lockdowns and a possible return to square one for those working to produce an effective vaccine," we stated.
They were reminded that the government has already pledged to ban fur farming and that the closure of fur farms is inevitable so therefore, closing them down now would merely be a matter of speeding up this process.
Find out more about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and how you can protect yourself and your family - https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/
ACTION ALERT
Please join us in urging the government to shut down Ireland’s three remaining fur farms and put in place the promised ban on fur farming.
Micheál Martin, Taoiseach
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
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Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
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Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
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Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly
Tel: (01) 201 7300 or (01) 618 3041
Email: ministersoffice@health.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DonnellyforWicklow
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DonnellyStephen
Charlie McConalogue
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: (01) 618 3199
Email: charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue
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Ban fur farming in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-fur-farming-in-ireland
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SEE ALSO:
Coronavirus testing at Irish mink farms under way
https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/1109/1176939-coronavirus-mink/
COVID19 testing at Irish fur farms: Govt must shut them down
https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/posts/3425502754231925
Letter: Government should roll out ban on fur farming
https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/posts/3427209740727893
Mink screaming: Tell Irish Government to shut down fur farms
https://youtu.be/62P0saq6DO0