During an investigation in Uruguay, we observe the Biomega blood farm over two days. Blood collections from pregnant mares continue to take place to produce the fertility hormone PMSG. We take a look at the wide pastures where the so-called “blood mares” are kept. It is very hot, and the small bushes do not provide enough shade for the horses. The…

During an investigation into PMSG production in Uruguay, we observe the Biomega blood farm for three days. There, blood is taken from pregnant mares for the production of the fertility hormone PMSG. We had already filmed the violent handling of mares during blood collection in 2018, and despite promises by the Uruguayan government to improve the…

In December 2018, two weeks after an audit by the EU-Commission, our team returns to Argentina. At both slaughterhouses Lamar and Land L, new shelters have been installed, particularly for the audit. However, they are too small for the large numbers of horses which are usually kept on the premises. Once again, we see a lot of emaciated, injured,…

Our team inspects a horse auction in Artigas, a town in northern Uruguay. The handling of the horses at the entrance of the auction ring is extremely violent. Auction workers hit the frightened animals with sticks and leather whips. All horses go through the sale regardless of their condition. We even see a horse with a broken leg, heavily pregnant…

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…

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…

Our follow-up investigation in Argentina and Uruguay in November and December 2017 showed that nothing has changed since our first investigation in 2012. We documented once again the whole production chain: horse collection centres, rodeos, transports and EU-approved slaughterhouses. At all places visited, horses are still systematically mistreated…

Our team observes the slaughterhouses Clay and Sarel in Uruguay before, during and after audits of the EU Commission and of European importers in order to detect any changes. Both plants prepare themselves for the announced audits and thus manipulate their outcome. Broken shelters are provisionally repaired, and horses with serious injuries and…

Our team returns to Uruguay in April 2018 in order to see if the conditions at the EU-approved slaughterhouses Clay and Sarel have improved. This is not the case, despite the repeated assurances of the Swiss and EU horsemeat importers. In the slaughterhouse pens, we once again find many injured, weak and emaciated horses, as well as pregnant mares…