The entry of further live mink into the province has been suspended with the confirmation of the presence of the Aleutian Disease virus on at least one commercial mink farm in the province.

Mink farms are being contacted and voluntary quarantines are in place until the situation is better understood by provincial animal health officials. Aleutian Disease is common in most mink-producing areas of the world, but this is the first time it has been found in this province.

"We are working very closely with industry to determine the extent of the contamination and to minimize the economic impact of this disease on this province�s mink industry," said the Honourable Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources. "We know fur producers are experiencing incredible uncertainty and stress right now and we are doing everything we can to ensure our farmers are informed of the steps being taken and the biosecurity measures they need to put in place to protect their operations."

Aleutian Disease is a disease of mink and it can spread to other farms through the movement of live animals and infected farm equipment. It does not impact human health. The disease has serious consequences for farms in terms of animals that die, have poor pelt quality or can�t reproduce. All mink brought into the province are required to be tested for Aleutian Disease. Animals health officials are attempting to determine how it was introduced into this province.

"This is a very serious blow to our expanding industry," said Merv Wiseman, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fur Breeders Association. "We have had a lot of recent investment and hopes of creating a significant and sustainable industry for rural Newfoundland and Labrador. A lot of our hopes were built on the advantages of having an Aleutian Disease-free industry. We look to a strong, cooperative effort with our governmental partners to minimize the economic impact of this disease and reestablish our industry."

Provincial animal health officials are continuing to test animals from other mink farms on the island and in Labrador that purchased animals from the infected farm. Results are expected on a continual basis over a period of days. Officials are looking at the options for ridding the province of the disease.

"This is a difficult virus to fight, but any success in fighting it requires maximum cooperation between government and industry," said Dr. Hugh Whitney, provincial veterinarian. "We will be testing all farms to better understand the extent of the infection and we have asked industry to stop movement of live mink in the province and to control movement of people and equipment between farms."

The province�s mink industry employs over 320 people, mostly in rural areas of the province, and is valued at roughly $70 million annually. The industry has approximately 60,000 female breeders on 24 ranches in the province.

For more information, please contact Dr. Hugh Whitney, provincial veterinarian, at 709-729-6879 or Merv Wiseman, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fur Breeders Association, at 709-747-4874.

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Media contact:
Tracy Barron
Director of Communications
Department of Natural Resources
709-729-5282, 690-8241
tracybarron@gov.nl.ca

2007 06 19                                                      12:45 p.m.