Uruguay | Cerro Largo | Blood farms for hormone production
[Translate to English:] Tanks unterschiedlicher Grösse auf dem Gelände der Blutfarm.
[Translate to English:] Ein Treibgang führt von den Pferchen zum Blutentnahmegebäude.
The owner of the blood farm also owns a stud farm where he breeds race horses and Criollos. We find him there and want to talk to him, but he is curt and sends us away, stating that he has nothing to do with the blood business.
Following this, we talk to one of the neighbours who lives in the vicinity of the blood farm. He says that the mares we see here on the pastures are all riding horses. The mares used for blood collection are kept on forest pastures about 40 km away from here. According to the neighbour, the mares are brought to the blood farm in groups and there is a constant rotation. Gauchos on horseback move herds of 170 to 200 mares past his house. He has also seen a pick-up truck drive by with a trailer transporting a cooling tank of about 1.500 litres.
Next, we drive to the blood farm. The gate is secured with a padlock and the place looks completely deserted. The holding pens are empty and we only see two horses in the adjacent field. The blood farm consists of only one building, which looks modern and new. Close to this building, there are two big tanks under a shelter. We also detect two smaller tanks on trailers. A wooden raceway leads up from the pen area to the building where the blood extraction is carried out.
As no activities can be observed here, we decide to drive to the forest pastures described by the neighbour.
