デンマーク、ミンクの死骸掘り起こし焼却開始　コロナ対策で大量殺処分

【コペンハーゲンＡＦＰ＝時事】デンマークで１３日、新型コロナウイルスの変異株対策で殺処分されて埋められた大量のミンクの死骸を掘り起こし、焼却する作業が始まった。当局が発表した。（写真はデンマーク・ホルステブロ郊外にある軍の敷地で、ミンクの死骸を焼却するため掘り起こす作業の様子）
　デンマーク政府は昨年、ワクチンが効かない可能性がある新型変異株がミンクから検出されたことを受けて、国内の１５００万匹すべてを殺処分した。
　一部は昨年１１月に西部の２か所に埋められたが、腐敗した死骸が周辺地域を汚染するとの懸念から、政府はウイルスの感染リスクがなくなるのを待って、死骸を掘り起こして焼却するよう求めていた。
　１３日には、１万３０００トンの死骸の一部が掘り起こされ、近くのマービヤー・エネルギー・センター（ＭＥＣ）に運ばれて焼却された。
　ＭＥＣは、運搬の際に死骸から悪臭が出る可能性があると警告したが、高温で焼却することで臭いはなくなるという。
　ミンクが埋められたある場所では、浅く埋められたために死骸が地表に現れる事態も起きていた。
　ミンクは動物で唯一、新型ウイルス変異株に感染し、人にも感染させることが確認されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/05/14-20:45）

Denmark on Thursday kicked off the grisly task of unearthing and incinerating minks that were hastily buried after a mass culling sparked by fears of a mutated coronavirus strain, authorities said.
All 15 million of Denmark's minks were killed last year after it emerged they were carrying a virus strain that experts feared could avert vaccines.
Some were buried in November in two mass graves in west Denmark, sparking fears that their decomposing carcasses could pollute surrounding areas.
The government called on them to be dug up and incinerated once the risk of contagion had subsided.
On Thursday, teams started digging up some of the 13,000 tonnes (29 million pounds) of mink carcasses due to be unearthed, which were then transported to the nearby Maabjerg Energy Center (MEC) for incineration.
I am relieved to see how the whole thing is going according to plan, agriculture minister Rasmus Prehn said in a post to Twitter.
The MEC warned that a foul odour from the carcasses may emanate in the area as they are transported and unloaded, but that burning them at a high temperature should eliminate the smell once they reach the incinerators.
Denmark was the world's largest exporter of mink fur before it culled its entire mink population last year after some were found to be carrying a mutated coronavirus variant.
Health authorities worried that vaccines may not work against the so-called Cluster 5 variant, which was declared wiped out in November.
The government banned mink breeding until January 2022, but it has come under fire for its culling program.
Once the mass gassing programme had already begun, a court challenge to the order found that the executive's decision had no legal basis, leading to the resignation of the previous agriculture minister.
Adding to the scandal, it was later revealed that the disposal of the dead animals could cause phosphorus and nitrogen to be released into the soil surrounding mass graves due to the decomposition process.
In one grim turn of events, one mass grave saw dead minks that had been buried too shallow rising out of the ground.
Mink are the only animal confirmed to be capable both of contracting the strain and of passing it to humans.