When we arrive at the collecting station of the slaughterhouse Clay, we immediately realize that the horses still have no weather protection whatsoever. The broken shelters still have not been fixed although December is one of the hottest months of the year. The horses are kept in paddocks that offer no shade at all, not even from trees. Several of…

Today we visit another rodeo, called “jineteada” in Uruguay. Again, the horses are tied to a wooden post and blindfolded until the rodeo starts. They are very frightened. One horse falls down once and another twice while tied to the post and trying to free themselves. When the rodeo starts and the blindfold is taken off, the rider kicks the horse…

When we arrive at the collecting station of horse dealer Bardanca in Tranqueras, we see about 20 horses on the fields at the edge of the forest. The land Bardanca rents from the forestry company Weyerhaeuser is vast and there are likely more horses inside the eucalyptus plantation but cannot be seen from the road.

We note that several horses are…

At 9:30, driving north in direction of Rivera, we see a huge pen area with cattle and horses next to the road and decide to stop by. Gauchos on horseback tell us that a livestock auction sale took place yesterday and that the animals are going to be loaded today.

Most of the pens hold cattle; there are three pens with horses. Two of these pens…

While we are following the horses in our car and listening to the radio commenting the “raid” (long-distance race), we hear that a horse went down shortly before the finish. When the three horses winning the race approached the end of the 105 km distance, the second placed one broke down. According to the radio commentator, the horse rolled over…

The “jineteada” is a traditional type of rodeo that is practised in Uruguay and some other South American countries. The rider has to stay for 6 to 15 seconds on the back of a bucking horse that is feral or untrained. First, the horse is tied to a wooden post and the eyes are blindfolded. When the rider is ready, the cover is taken off and the…

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…

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…

We want to ask a government official who is responsible for the control of the blood business and arrange a meeting with Dr. Homero Cabanas, President of the national Animal Welfare Committee. We would like to know how many companies are involved in the blood business, who is inspecting them and where the blood serum is exported to.

Dr. Cabanas…