G/SPS/N/DNK/5  
 
7 January  2021 
(21-0259) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
1. Notifying Member:  DENMARK  
If applicable, name of local government involved:   
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national 
schedules deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, 
where applicable):  Live animals, animal husbandry and breeding  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable : 
[X] All trading partners   
[ ] Specific regions or countries:   
5. Title of the notified document:  "Forslag til Lov om aflivning af og midlertidigt forbud 
mod hold af mink" (Draft Law on Culling of mink and Temporary Ban on Keeping Mink) . 
Language(s):  Danish . Number of pages:  23 
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/SPS/DNK/21_0275_00_x.pdf  
6. Description of content:  The law draft concerns a new law that determines a temporary 
ban on keeping mink, including requirements for the culling of all mink, which is not 
included in restrictions of other legislation.  
The purpose of the law is to prevent the spread of COVID -19 among mink in the sake of 
public health.  
In mid -June, the first mink farms in North Jutland were found infected with COVID -19, 
and the virus has since spread to over 200 farms across Jutland, and on the 
recommendation of the veterinary and health authoritie s, the government decided on 
1 October 2020 to cull all infected crews as well as crews within a radius of 7.8 kilometers.  
The health authorities assess that continued mink breeding during an ongoing COVID -19 
epidemic entails a significant risk to public h ealth, including the possibilities for preventing 
COVID -19 with vaccines. This is stated in the Statens Serum Institut's risk assessment of 
3 November 2020 of human health with continued mink breeding.  
It also appears that continued mink breeding during th e epidemic entails a significant risk 
of recurrence of the spread of infection among mink and humans as in Western Denmark 
2020. Statens Serum Institut assesses that this entails a great risk to public health, both 
by leading to greater disease burden amon g humans, and by the fact that a large virus 
reservoir in mink increases the risk of new viral mutations that vaccines do not provide 
optimal protection against.  
Statens Serum Institut assesses that the flock immunity obtained through vaccination or 
by the  infection being over may, overall, be weakened or absent, and that it must also be 
expected to lead to a significant deterioration in the possibilities for maintaining epidemic 
control in Denmark.  
According to the risk assessment, Statens Serum Institut h as detected a mutation, 
cluster  5, which preliminary laboratory studies indicate has reduced sensitivity to G/SPS/N/DNK/5  
 
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  neutralizing antibodies. There is a risk that a new mutation has arisen against which 
current vaccine candidates do not provide optimal protection.  
On this basis, it is proposed that all mink on Danish mink farms must be culled (incl. 
breeding animals), and the production must be stopped, including reinstatement of new 
mink, until 31 December 2021.  
The Danish government wants to use the urgent procedu re due to the serious and 
unpredictable situation that the COVID -19 pandemic poses to human health. The 
government decided on 3 November 2020 that all mink in Denmark must be culled as 
soon as possible for the sake of public health.  
The decision was made a fter the health authorities submitted a risk assessment, which 
underlined that the presence of mink in Denmark in itself constitutes a risk to public health 
and the effect of future vaccines against COVID -19 in the current situation.  
7. Objective and rati onale: [  ] food safety, [  ] animal health, [  ] plant protection, 
[X] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [  ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests.   
8. Is there a relevant international standard? If so, identify the standard:  
[ ] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex 
standard or related text) :  
[ ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g.  Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number) :  
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g.  ISPM number) :  
[X] None  
Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?  
[ ] Yes   [  ] No 
If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:   
9. Other relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:    
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) : November 2020  
Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy) : 1 December 2020  
11. Proposed date of entry into force: [  ] Six months from date of publication , 
and/or (dd/mm/yy) : 1 December 2020  
[ ] Trade facilitating measure   
12. Final date for comments: [  ] Sixty days from the date of circulation of the 
notification and/or (dd/mm/yy) : Not applicable  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [X]  National Notification 
Authority, [X]  National Enquiry Point. Address, fax number and e -mail address 
(if available) of other body:   
European Commission  
DG Health and Food Safety, Unit D2 -Multilateral International Relations  
Rue Froissart 101  
B-1049 Brussels  
Tel: +(32 2) 29 54263  
Fax: +(32 2) 29 98090  
E-mail: sps@ec.europa.eu  G/SPS/N/DNK/5  
 
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  13. Text(s) available from: [X]  National Notification Authority, [X]  National Enquiry 
Point. Address, fax number and e -mail address (if available) of other body:   
European Commission  
DG Health and Food Safety, Unit D2 -Multilateral International Relations  
Rue Froissart 101  
B-1049 Brussels  
Tel: +(32 2) 29 54263  
Fax: +(32 2) 29 98090  
E-mail: sps@ec.europa.eu