WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A farmers' organization in Poland pressed the government on Tuesday to ensure that mink farmers are compensated in case the animals have to be culled because of the coronavirus.

The organization dispatched a letter Tuesday to Deputy Agriculture Minister Grzegorz Puda seeking such compensation following a recent decision to cull thousands of mink at a farm near Kartuzy, in northern Poland, where four out of 20 tested animals were infected with the coronavirus.

The animals were culled Monday, in Poland’s first such instance. Existing laws don't make mink farmers eligible for government compensation and the National Council of Farmer Chambers wants that changed.

The Council asked Puda to swiftly amend the pandemic-era regulations in order to guarantee compensation, as breeders fear more mink farms may have to be shut down.

Poland is one of the world’s biggest producers of mink furs.