Mares are tortured for our cheap schnitzel

On a wide, lush meadow in southern Iceland, more than a dozen pregnant mares are waiting this autumn morning to be bled for the last time this year. The animals belong to a so-called blood farm near Selfoss. The horses are only bred to extract a hormone from their blood for the factory industry. Animal rights activists are shocked.

“There is no way to make this kind of livestock farming fully understandable to the public,” says even the horse farm owner, who wishes to remain anonymous. “The public is too sensitive.” The industry has come under enormous criticism since a shocking video of horse abuse in Iceland surfaced online a year ago.

The business model consists of extracting the hormone PMSG (Pregnant mare serum gonadotropin), which is found in the blood of pregnant mares. It is used worldwide to increase the fertility of livestock such as cows and pigs. After the mares have given birth, the foals are usually slaughtered on the farms.

Driven into wooden boxes for blood collection

The video released last year shows employees beating and poking horses with sticks and dogs biting horses. In addition, the mares are apparently completely weakened by the blood test. Some succumb to exhaustion after resisting being tied up. The images caused a shock wave, both abroad and in Iceland.

At the farm at Selfoss, the mares wait quietly to be herded into the wooden boxes for blood draw. The legs are secured with boards, a halter holds the head up. “The horses can be stressed and restless. These braces are essentially there to protect them and prevent them from injuring themselves in the crate,” explains a Polish vet, who also declined to give his name.

The mares are given a local anesthetic before the vet inserts a large cannula into the jugular vein. Within minutes, up to five liters of blood is drawn from each horse – once a week for two months. The company is lucrative: he earns up to ten million crowns (more than 70,000 euros) per year with the blood, says the 56-year-old farmer owner, who also works as a lawyer.

Veterinary authorities inspected all Icelandic blood farms

The Icelandic company Isteka processes the hormone PMSG into powder. The biotech company is the largest manufacturer in Europe and processes about 170 tons of blood every year.

This year it will probably be less: After the videos were published, some breeders gave up. “The farmers were hit hard by the video,” said Isteka director Arnthor Gudlaugsson. He admits there were problematic cases, but the hidden camera video “showed the practice too negatively”.

Police launched an investigation into the recordings and veterinary authorities inspected all Icelandic blood farms. No one had to close, but the breeding debate continues. Many Icelanders only learned about the mare’s blood trade through the videos, although it has been operating on the island since 1979.

“This is pure animal cruelty”

“Making a medicine for farm animals to increase their fertility above natural levels – that’s not a noble goal,” said Rosa Lif Darradottir of the newly founded Icelandic Animal Welfare Association. “This is pure animal cruelty,” opposition MP Inga Saeland said, calling for a ban on the practice.

Stricter rules have been in effect since August. They are valid for three years. Until then, Iceland wants to make fundamental decisions about the future of blood farms. (AFP/ymh)