STOCKHOLM – Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday issued an apology over her government’s handling of the mass cull of the country’s farmed mink after meeting a mink breeder.

“I think there is reason to apologize for this process,” she said, adding that she had “no problem apologizing for this process, because mistakes have been made.”

Frederiksen’s remarks were made after she visited a family in Jutland western Denmark that had to cull all their mink.

“It’s been emotional,” Frederiksen told reporters, with tears in her eyes, broadcasters DR and TV2 reported.

“We have two generations of really good mink breeders – father and son – who in a very, very short time have seen their livelihoods smashed,” she added.

Earlier this month, the government ordered the cull of all mink but subsequently had to admit it lacked adequate legal footing. The food and fisheries minister resigned last week.

The cull was ordered after a mutated form of coronavirus was found to have been transmitted between minks and humans.