Mink mass graves in Denmark might contaminate groundwater: Study

Team Udayavani, Dec 11, 2020, 5:11 PM IST

A study commissioned by Denmark’s Environmental Protection Agency states that decomposing mink buried in dirt pits following a nationwide cull might contaminate groundwater.

Danish government ordered a cull of some 1.7 crore mink in November after hundreds of farms suffered outbreaks of coronavirus.

According to The Guardian, unable to incinerate such a large number of dead animals at once, authorities buried millions in vast, shallow 2-metre pits in a military training area in West Jutland, from which some recently began emerging as their bodies filled with gases.

Denmark’s Environmental Protection agency is currently conducting additional examinations to assess the environmental impact of the graves, including geophysical probes and drillings. It said on Wednesday it expected the results of those early next year.