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…