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Wild mink in Utah tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 2:42 PM, Dec 14, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-14 16:43:50-05

Another wild mink has tested positive for COVID-19 in Utah, according to the Humane Society.

The mink was found and tested Friday near a Utah fur farm that had tested positive for the coronavirus.

WATCH: First US cases of coronavirus in mink found at two Utah farms

According to the Humane Society, 11 countries and four states (Utah, Wisconsin, Oregon and Michigan) have reported COVID-19 positive minks on fur farms.

Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society, says as solitary animals, minks are "not likely to spread the virus to each other." Wild minks that escape from fur farms are reportedly no threat to humans, according to the Swedish National Veterinary Institute.

READ: Denmark plans to kill 15 million minks after COVID mutation spreads to humans

For Block, what's really at issue is the inhumane treatment of the wild minks.

"We have been making the case since the beginning of the pandemic for ending cruel confinement practices like fur farming because animals held in cramped, crowded spaces are far more likely to contract and spread dangerous diseases that can jump to humans. As the pandemic has progressed, we have seen these fears turn to reality." Block said in an online blog.