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Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

thelocal.dk

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Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#221

Post by jabl »

rvense wrote: post #179
denkmoon wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fwiw, cotton crops are incredibly water intensive. Probably a better solution than factory farming animals or releasing more plastics into the environment, but it's not perfect either.

I hear hemp is pretty good on all counts, though. But definitely buy less clothes, take better care of them, and make sure to give/sell the good ones you have but don't wear to second hand shops instead of just throwing them away.

There's also research on making less environmentally damaging [1] cloth fibers from cellulose.

[1] Compared to viscose etc.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#222

Post by hvidgaard »

ada1981 wrote: post #65
_Microft wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, the conditions of keeping the animals close but not too close even encourages selection for mutations that allow the virus to spread more easily through air. If I remember correctly, ferrets were held under similiar conditions for "gain for function" experiments [0]. "Gain of function" means here how the virus can develop the ability (function) of spreading through the air when it e.g. initially requir…

Yes was banned due to academic outcry, but then lifted by Trump. “Gain of Function” is often a dog whistle for bioweapons research.

Why else would you actively develop bacteria and virus that spreads more?

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#223

Post by nicbou »

tyre wrote: post #76
mschuster91 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Mutation is a big red reset button on the pandemic potentially. Only on the vaccination / immunity front - the biggest problem was that there initially were no tests or lab capacities for tests, plus a total collapse of PPE stockpiles and supply. That's ... at least decently solved.

Depends on where you are. The US has significantly improved testing (I work for a COVID-19 testing company) but people don't socially isolate or wear their damn masks. We had issues in the election yesterday of poll workers not wearing masks. People just don't get it, and this behavior clearly isn't "fixed" as the winter surge is well under way.

Here in Berlin it's very difficult to get a test, even if you have symptoms. It becomes an issue because even teachers can't get regular tests.

https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/coronavirus#coronavirus-te...

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#224

Post by toyg »

mcguire wrote: post #111
tyre wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on where you are. The US has significantly improved testing (I work for a COVID-19 testing company) but people don't socially isolate or wear their damn masks. We had issues in the election yesterday of poll workers not wearing masks. People just don't get it, and this behavior clearly isn't "fixed" as the winter surge is well under way.

A question: Why aren't we running randomized survey testing to determine the extent of infections?

UK gov is, I was asked to participate (I declined). They even pay you quite a bit of money for the trouble.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#226

Post by tinus_hn »

intotheabyss wrote: post #135
szopa wrote: post #120

This article may be unnecessarily alarmist: https://twitter.com/BallouxFrancois/status/13240857614493040...

If it's alarmist, how come the Denmark government is taking such extreme measures?

Because they were alarmed? Governments are not immune to disinformation themselves and can experience pressure from a population rallied by falsehoods.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#227

Post by rvense »

jabl wrote: post #218
rvense wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the government takes away your livelihood like this, I think they should help you get back on your feet somehow. I'm very happy that these farms are being closed, though.

Are they being closed permanently, actually? Yes, this would be a good opportunity to shut down that entire abhorrent industry, but I wouldn't be surprised if the government instead gives a fat handout to the fur farmers to restart their businesses.

Maybe not permanently, but it wouldn't make more sense if they were just allowed to start again next week.

But actually, since the coverage here isn't saying that the industry is being shut down, you're probably right.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#228

Post by tinus_hn »

wffurr wrote: post #10
im3w1l wrote: post #6

So uhm how likely is it that this new version is contained if they found 12 cases in people already?

It's possible there is only mink-to-human transmission and not human-to-human. This was the case for MERS, which was contained in part by culling chickens.

If so the solution would be to not shut down the farms because a version of corona that is not contagious would be really helpful. I’m not buying your argument.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#229

Post by tinus_hn »

vanderZwan wrote: post #119
koala_man wrote: post #20

Norway's Fur Farming Prohibition Act is set to take effect in 2025. May this neighboring scare hasten the demise of this abusive and unnecessary industry.

I just learned that the Netherlands also was going to prohibit fur framing in 2025 but changed this to 2021 due to multiple cases of covid jumping from minks to humans. I don't really get why we don't outright ban it immediately and compensate the farmers a bit more for their troubles, since the "return on investment" for not creating another covid strain is a lot higher than that, but ok.

Chances are their days in Denmark were counted as well, making this a much easier choice.

Re: Denmark to cull millions of minks over mutated coronavirus

#230

Post by tinus_hn »

vecinu wrote: post #143
Devils-Avocado wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would consider it the danger of lockdown. We guarantee that the virus is still festering somewhere on the planet, and that vulnerable populations remain around the world, risking flareups. With zero response - ie. what we do for influenza - we establish herd immunity over a short, sharp period, and the virus immediately falls over. In any case, even if this mink-mutant variant is slightly deadlier, the data from Sw…

You mention the IFR but what about the long term implications of so many people catching COVID and having reduced lung capacity or long term damage? Can we please address this fact that scares a lot of us? We already know the death rate is low for groups that are not at risk but it seems even healthy people are suffering from "long COVID" with serious long term implications.

Please provide a number instead of ‘so many’ and ‘it seems’. I’ve seen ‘so many’ alarmist stories on this but no statistics at all, this is turning me rather skeptical.
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