A Meat and Dairy Article from All-Creatures.org

The Blood of Pregnant Mares Fuels Factory Farming – Literally

From Kena Shah, SentientMedia.org
August 2023

Meat and Dairy Articles / Animals in Labs ~ The Blood of Pregnant Mares Fuels Factory Farming – Literally

Thanks to PMSG, the hog industry can ensure that sows are able to farrow two to three times annually. Though there are synthetic alternatives, the global pork industry continues to source PMSG from blood farms, creating a constant cycle of suffering for horses and pigs that has become a hallmark of industrial meat.

Watch PMSG: Hormone of double misery: https://youtu.be/3OX4qu1zJzw

Also read: Pregnant Horses Drained of Blood for PMSG Hormone that Causes Larger Litters for Pigs in Factory Farms AND ‘Blood Farms’ Extract Hormones from Pregnant Horses to Create Hormone Products that Increase Reproduction in Farmed Pigs and Cows

Distressed mares bound for blood collection in Iceland. Credit: Animal Welfare Foundation

Thanks to PMSG, the hog industry can ensure that sows are able to farrow two to three times annually. Though there are synthetic alternatives, the global pork industry continues to source PMSG from blood farms, creating a constant cycle of suffering for horses and pigs that has become a hallmark of industrial meat.

More people than ever are awakening to the grim reality of factory farming. Even if there isn’t consensus on how to fix the problems of industrial meat, polling suggests the public does at least care about animal welfare. Documentaries and investigations have brought greater awareness to what cows, pigs and chickens experience on factory farms. But there is another species that has been profoundly affected too, even if they don’t get the same attention: horses.

While it’s no secret that horses are used in the production of gelatin, there is another egregious practice that also involves these equine creatures: the extraction of a hormonal serum from pregnant mares, used by the meat industry to boost production of pork.

The livestock industry relies on this hormone to maximize pregnancy and birth. Used mostly on pig farms, but also on sheep and cattle operations, the point is to ensure as many pregnancies as possible, as quickly as possible. The hormone is usually given first to young sows to induce early puberty, which in turn triggers a kind of superovulation that results in larger litters.

Just after they give birth, sows are then given PMSG to immediately induce what’s called estrus—the period of time when a female animal is in heat—so the cycle can start all over again.

....

Please read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.

[This piece has been updated to clarify that the known blood farms in the U.S. and Canada are used to source hormones other than PMSG.]

---

Return to Meat and Dairy Articles
Read more at Animals in Labs