On this relatively small blood farm, blood is extracted today from 60 mares in three restraint boxes, which takes three hours in total. The mares are restrained in the boxes with a belt over their backs so that they cannot rear up. Their heads are pulled up by a rope and fixed to one side of the box. Then, a large-bore cannula is inserted into…

Video footage obtained on a large blood farm with six restraint boxes shows the everyday treatment of blood mares during blood extraction. The entire procedure, lasting three hours in total, is stressful for the semi-wild horses.

The mares and foals are herded from the pasture to the blood collection site with honking cars, shouting people and…

During ten days of investigation in Iceland, we find 40 blood farms out of around 100 farms where blood is taken from pregnant mares for the production of the fertility hormone PMSG. We detect numerous risks of injury to the mares at these facilities. Most raceways and restraint boxes have dangerous gaps where the mares can injure their legs, and…

Near the Biomega blood farm, a group of 300 mares is moved by two gauchos on horseback on a stony gravel road. They are on the way to a nearby pasture. The horses’ condition is variable: some look healthy, on first glance, and have an adequate body weight, while others are extremely emaciated. The horses have neglected hooves, some with cracks, and…

From 8:15 until 10:30, more than 200 pregnant mares go through the blood extraction procedure. They are moved through the raceways and into the restraint boxes by brute force. The mares are hit with iron hooks, including on their heads, and poked in sensitive body parts. Wooden sticks are also used. Once they are inside the restraint box, the…

The blood extraction starts at 8:15 in the morning. Blood is taken for 6 to 13.5 minutes from the pregnant mares. The handling by the employees is extremely unprofessional and cruel. Different objects are used to force the horses into the restraint boxes: long wooden sticks, short pointed sticks, ropes and rubber strings. The mares are…

In the afternoon, we drive to the estancia “La Paloma” of blood farmer Roberto Mailhos. We only see very few horses on the pastures next to the access road, where we saw more than 200 horses on our visit last year. Close to the estancia, we observe a mare standing next to her new-born foal that is lying in the grass. Besides them, there is a very…

We meet Martin Sanchez (name changed), a veterinarian who worked on a blood farm in the early eighties. The name of the company, which does not exist anymore, was Capo SA. He first worked on their farm in Uruguay and later in Argentina. His duty was to check the condition of the horses and to treat injuries which happened when they fought. He…

In the late afternoon, we arrive at the estancia “San Miguel”, which is only 7 km away from the pine forest pasture. According to our information, this is where the mares are covered in spring (September). When approaching the farm, we observe two horses on a pasture, about 200 m before the entrance. One of them is lying on the ground. When the…