More than 17 million mink are being culled and dumped in mass graves in Denmark in a desperate bid to eradicate a mutated strain of coronavirus that could make vaccines less potent. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned today the new Covid-19 variant — called Cluster 5 — could have ‘grave consequences’ if it becomes […]
Tag: coronavirus
Denmark announces cull of 15 million mink over Covid mutation fears
The world’s largest mink producer, Denmark, says it plans to cull more than 15 million of the animals, due to fears that a Covid-19 mutation moving from mink to humans could jeopardise future vaccines. At a press conference on Wednesday, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said 12 people are already infected with the mutated […]
How Migrating Birds Could Warn Us of the Next Pandemic
“Fire!” A baritone retort accompanies a spray of tawny sand as a large cannon net stretches wide. Small shorebirds with white bellies and mottled orange and black feathers try to flee, but the net is faster: It settles and traps a flock of Ruddy Turnstones underneath. A ragtag crew leaps up and dashes to the indignant […]
Lemurs might never recover from COVID-19 (commentary)
The DreamWorks version of Madagascar is exactly that, a fantasy. The island nation is no unpeopled paradise teeming with dancing lemurs, as depicted in the animated Madagascar film. On the contrary, almost all of its lemur species are being driven to extinction by humans. This World Lemur’s Day, it is worth pointing out that the […]
From safaris to slaughter: Butchered for valuable horns, rhinos are among the tragic victims in a new poaching epidemic – as Africa’s deserted game reserves lose the tourist millions that protected its wildlife wonders
When Prince Harry was seeking to impress Meghan Markle in the early days of their courtship, he took her on a surprise trip to Botswana, the African country he used to call his ‘second home’. There they celebrated her 36th birthday in a $2,000-a-night deluxe tent at the Meno a Kwena safari camp on the […]
Petition: Urge Congress and Senate to Pass Preventing Future Pandemics Act of 2020
This year, the world has come face to face with the consequences of how we treat animals and our environment. From isolation to job loss, COVID-19 has had a profound impact on our daily lives and how we experience the world. Most people know that Coronavirus is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it spreads between […]
Petition: Mink on Wisconsin Fur Farm Test Positive for COVID-19
Mink on a fur farm in Wisconsin have just tested positive for the coronavirus, raising more public health concerns regarding the fur industry. Nine mink tested positive and several hundred have died at a farm in Taylor County, Wisconsin, according to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. This was the first COVID-19 outbreak among mink in […]
Petition: Half Million Sharks Could be Killed for the Coronavirus Vaccine
Conservationists warn that up to half a million sharks could be killed to produce the coronavirus vaccine. Sharks produce squalene, the natural oil in their livers, that’s used in vaccines around the world. Squalene is used to create a stronger immune response in the vaccine, therefore increasing its efficacy. GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company, uses squalene […]