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At the end of 2020, we were surprised by the news of the slaughter of 17 million mink that lived on fur farms in Denmark, slaughtered because they had been infected with a mutated version of the coronavirus and it was feared that they would spread to humans. The health issue was worrisome, but I was more agitated by the idea that such a civilized country –or at least with such fabulous marketing– would breed such a large population of this bug that is only good for making coats. Today something similar splashes us, but much closer. In Galicia. There, again at a mink farm, the animals have contracted bird flu supposedly through contact with seagulls or some other type of waterfowl.

Virologists believe that this type of flu – which has already forced fifty million poultry to be culled in Europe – currently poses the greatest risk of a devastating pandemic. And they have been put on alert because, they say, this fact shows that the virus jumps with joy from bugs that fly to mammals like us. In other words, we are in danger. Again, the health aspect of the news can make us tremble –it seems that someone is very interested in us not lowering the level of fear–, but what shocks me is that there are still people capable of putting on a mink coat.

Because on this Galician farm alone, more than fifty thousand animals will die, which in any case were destined for sacrifice, to be skinned and turned into luxury garments for women –mostly– from all over the world. It’s one thing to put on the mink coat Grandma passed down to you, but continuing to breed, kill, and sew critters as an exercise in fashion, frankly, seems inhumane to me.

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