Millions of mink are set to be culled after a mutation of the Coronavirus was discovered at more than 200 Danish mink farms.

(The New York Times)

Officially, a total of 12 people have so far been infected at farms mostly in the northern part of the country but health minister Magnus Heunicke said he believed that, in fact, half the 783 human COVID-19 cases in northern Denmark were "related" to mink.

And Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said there were now fears that the new, mutated virus posed a "risk to the effectiveness" of a future COVID-19 vaccine.

"It is very, very serious," Ms Frederiksen added. "Thus, the mutated virus in mink can have devastating consequences worldwide."

Denmark is one of the world's main mink fur exporters, producing an estimated 17 million furs per year.

Kopenhagen Fur, a co-operative of 1,500 Danish breeders, accounts for 40% of the global mink production. Most of its exports go to China and Hong Kong.

The Danish government is backing the cull as a way to minimise the risk of more retransmitting coronavirus to humans.

(Lupni.com/Sky News)