Poland has begun testing minks for the coronavirus despite objections by lobby groups and some farm owners, who fear they could lead to a nationwide cull, Reuters reports.

Earlier this month, three industry associations warned a decision to test minks could pave the way for Poland to follow Denmark's move to cull its entire mink population after a mutated form of the virus was found.

“We are afraid that the agriculture ministry wants to follow the 'Danish path',” Daniel Chmielewski from the Polish Association of Fur Farmers said in an e-mailed statement.

The groups' representatives and some farm owners also signalled that they may refuse to allow the veterinary services to test their animals for the coronavirus, which spread among mink in Denmark and some of their keepers despite earlier culls.