This study, published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases (2020; doi:10.1111/tbed.13713), illustrates the role of pathology as a tool to support conservation programs for endangered species. In this case, the detection of two presumably newly-recognized herpesviruses in European mink was made as a result of the diagnosis of a case of mainly neural / perineural lymphoma with intralesional inclusion bodies characteristic of herpesviruses in a European mink from the captive breeding program of this threatened species. These viruses could have an influence on the development of this and other diseases that affect this species in captivity and, therefore, affect their populations.