Uruguay | Maldonado | Estancia “Las Marquesas” | Blood farms for hormone production
[Translate to English:] Erschöpft liegt eine Stute regungslos am Boden.
[Translate to English:] Eine trächtige Stute, die am Hals von der Blutentnahme ein grosses Hämatom hat.
[Translate to English:] Eine abgemagerte Stute, deren Knochen sich unter dem Fell deutlich abzeichnen.
We drive to the new blood farm of Fernando Perdigón in the Department Maldonado. On the way there, we find groups of mares in forest clearings. They are dull, abused, their bodies covered in scars from the beatings. Some have identification tags around their necks. Their tails are not trimmed, indicating they are not yet in the production. Others are emaciated with pregnant bellies; their blood has been drawn for quite some time. We detect a white mare whose tail is trimmed; she is thin and obviously pregnant. A large bruise surrounds the area where the blood is taken at the jugular vein.
In front of the blood farm of Perdigón, we meet his foreman. He says that he is not allowed to give us any information; we would have to talk directly with his boss. Nevertheless, he reveals that they currently have 200 mares on the farm. When we call Perdigón, he asks us to call back later, but does not pick up the phone again.
