Letter to EU Commissioner Várhelyi: Together with partner organizations, we call for an immediate ban on the hormone PMSG

Together with 13 international animal welfare organizations, we have sent an urgent letter to EU Health and Animal Welfare Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi. In it, we call for an immediate ban on the production, import, and use of the fertility hormone PMSG/eCG in the European Union.

The background to our demand is the newly published two-year investigation in Argentina and Uruguay. The investigation shows that conditions on so-called blood farms remain cruel ten years after they were first exposed: over 10,000 pregnant mares are systematically exploited there.

Over a period of around eleven weeks, up to ten liters of blood are taken from them every week. Violence, panic, injuries, lack of care, and failure to provide veterinary treatment continue to be part of everyday life. The foals are systematically aborted so that the mares can become pregnant several times a year.

It is particularly alarming that the Argentine company Syntex continues to import PMSG into the EU via a subsidiary in Ireland – even though such hormone production would not be approved under EU animal welfare standards. The company lost all its European customers in 2018 because we made the conditions on the blood farms public. The fact that the company is now continuing to distribute PMSG from South America in the EU via this workaround makes it clear that voluntary commitments by the industry are ineffective. 

In our letter, we therefore urge the European Commission to:

• recognize the production of PMSG as a violation of EU law and ban it,
• impose an import ban on the hormone originating from third countries,
• and prohibit the use of PMSG, as it is not medically necessary and alternatives exist.

In 2021, the European Parliament had already called on the Commission to ban the import and production of PMSG. In addition, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is currently preparing a scientific opinion on horse husbandry and PMSG production, which is expected to be published in 2026. However, in view of the ongoing suffering of thousands of animals, we cannot afford to wait any longer.

With this letter, we appeal to the European Commission to act now and end the massive animal suffering associated with the production of this unnecessary hormone.

Download our letter to the Commissioner here.