What are blood farms

They call them blood farms and they would make anyone shiver, not just the most committed animal rights activists. To describe them is a new investigation by the Animal Welfare Foundation which for years has been trying to shed light on this world, a world made of cruelty motivated by sinister profit. 

Let’s start with the facts. Each year, thousands of mares are reared and impregnated to extract the hormone eCG (equine chorionic gonadotropin) from their blood. Five liters of blood are drawn from a pregnant mare per week, for up to ten weeks. 

When the mares give birth, the male foals are immediately sent to the slaughterhouse, while the females follow the same fate as the mothers; given the rock bottom prices of foals, blood has become much more profitable.

The hormone is used to formulate veterinary drugs : not life-saving treatments, but medicines that stimulate the fertility of the sows , making the production rates of intensive farms even more frenetic.

What the Animal Welfare Foundation investigation says

Until a few years ago, the blood farms were located in Argentina and Uruguay , but they have been put in crisis by the investigations that have brought them to the attention of the media and civil society. The wave of indignation has in fact pushed several pharmaceutical companies to stop using the hormone imported from South America.

Problem solved, then? No, just moved a few thousand kilometers. To be precise in Iceland , where blood farms represent a very rich business: we are talking about a hundred factories, for a total of five thousand horses.

It is not only the fact that the blood is taken from the mares that causes a sensation, but also the modality . According to Icelandic regulations, veterinarians are the only ones authorized to carry out the sampling and are obliged to report any violations of animal welfare to the authorities. In fact, the mares are beaten and moved by pitting the dogs against them , with absolute impunity.