The next global pandemic could be brewing on a mink farm in Utah – and little is being done to stop it | George Monbiot
Attributed to The Guardian. ENC is not independently verifying these facts.

Still from the source feed, not produced by ENC.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/nov/04/global-pandemic-mink-farm-utah-farming-livestock
ENC Summary
Single-source
The Guardian is currently the only allowlisted source on the desk for this item.
Missing information
- No second independent outlet is on the desk for this item yet.
What to watch next
- Whether the original outlet issues a correction or update.
- Whether a second independent allowlisted outlet publishes on the same development.
- Whether later excerpts change the numbers or the framing.
Claim states describe the source record, not independently verified truth. Green and cyan never mean “confirmed.”
Supporting passage from source
Mink farms are the perfect petri dishes for deadly flu strains to emerge. Yet officials appear to be protecting business interests over human lives Could this be ground zero? Could it be the spot where the next pandemic begins? It’s certainly a candidate, not least because the chain of events that could trigger a plague far worse than Covid-19 looks like the opening sequence of a disaster movie. A really bad disaster movie, in which the levels of carelessness and turpitude defy belief. A report by the investigative news service ProPublica reveals that bird flu has been raging in a mink farm in Utah since August, and it appears next to nothing has been done by public officials. In 2023, I warned in the Guardian that mink farms could scarcely be better designed to generate lethal plagues. T…
More on Wildlife
Same topic on this desk, not a claim that these outlets agree. Each keeps its own original link.
Reader discussion
Comments are public only after review. Keep personal thoughts private in your saved items.
Sign in to join the discussion

