When minks are bred for their pelts — which are used to make fur coats and accessories — they are confined in small cages for their entire lives. They cannot engage in natural behaviors like roaming territories, digging, or swimming. | Getty Images

From Denmark to the US, outbreaks on mink farms raise concerns that a virus mutation could make our vaccines ineffective.

Denmark’s fur farms are home to 17 million minks, and last week, the government announced it would kill all of them.

This week, however, the government rolled that back a bit. Now, the government merely recommends killing all farmed minks in the country. It will only require the killing of minks — weasel-like animals prized for their fur — on farms where Covid-19 has been detected.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen initially said all 17 million minks would be culled because the