Inside the Swedish Veterinary Institute outside Uppsala, sampling of submitted minks is now underway.
- We have a monitoring program and receive from all producers.
So far, we have ten confirmed cases where minks in Sweden have been infected with the corona virus.
All from Blekinge, where about half of the country's mink farms are located, says Ståhl.
Critics have said that animal husbandry, with large herds where animals live close together, can contribute to infection and its spread.
- I can not say that it contributes to the occurrence of infection.
You can have large herds with many animals but good infection control.
It is often small herds with poorer infection control that have a greater risk of becoming infected, says Karl Ståhl.
- But if you have contracted the infection, then it is clear that there will be more spread of infection if you have a lot of animals.
"The Swedish situation is very different from the Danish"
In Denmark, there was talk of killing all minks, and it started but had to be stopped for legal reasons. What should Sweden do?
- The Swedish situation is very different.
We have about 40 mink farms with 650,000 animals.
Denmark has 1,500 mink herds with close to 20 million animals.
They have had a spread of infection since June that they have not stopped.
In Sweden, the first infected were found in October.´
- And since it comes now when the fur is to be done and minks are killed for the sake of the fur, it is a faster and more efficient way to reduce the number of minks and reduce the risk of uncontrolled spread of infection, says Karl Ståhl.
Every year, about 5 / 6ths of the minks are killed for the sake of the fur, and 1 / 6th is saved for next year.