Danish TV has shown footage of dead mink resurfacing from the ground after millions of animals were culled due to fears over the coronavirus. Police explained that it was a natural phenomenon.
Public broadcaster DR showed a chilling video of hordes of unearthed animal carcasses lying jam-packed inside the mass burial site at the Holstebro military training ground in the country's northwest.
National Berlingske daily jokingly described the phenomenon as "dead zombie mink rising from the grave to exact revenge" after the government had culled between 15 million and 17 million animals earlier this month.
However, the reemergence of the carcasses is completely natural, officials assured. "Gases are formed during decomposition, which causes the bodies to swell a little and, in worst cases, they get pushed out of the ground," police spokesperson Thomas Kristensen explained.
Kristensen said that the mink carcasses had most recently resurfaced early on Monday morning, but this has also happened before. The authorities have tried to solve the problem by laying more soil over the dead animals, however, a meter of soil turned out to be insufficient to keep them underground.
According to DR, mink will now be buried under 2.5 meters (6.5 feet) of soil instead of one.
The government ordered the mass slaughter of mink on farms after a mutated version of the coronavirus was discovered in some animals. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen later admitted that the government had no legal authority to issue such an order and apologized.