(CNN) Spanish authorities have ordered the culling of almost 100,000 mink following an outbreak at a farm, where the animals are bred for fur, after a number tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Environment of Spain's Aragon region said in a statement on Thursday that it had ordered the slaughter of the 92,700 mink after seven workers on the farm tested positive for Covid-19 and the animals were found to be infected with the coronavirus. As a precaution the department shut down the farm, in Teruel, eastern Spain, on May 22, for monitoring before conducting a number of tests at random, which initially returned a negative result. However, subsequent tests, the most recent of which was July 7, confirmed 78 out of 90 animals tested -- equivalent to 87% of the sample -- had become infected with the coronavirus. In the statement, the department said no conclusions could be drawn as to whether "there is human-to-animal transmission or vice versa," and that "no abnormal behavior has been detected in the animals nor has there been an increase in mortality in them."

Source: CNN July 17, 2020 10:18 UTC