Together with partner organizations, we are calling for the consistent enforcement of EU law in the Icelandic horse blood industry in an open letter. For us, it is clear that blood collection from pregnant mares for PMSG is not a secondary agricultural activity, but a scientific procedure in accordance with the EU/EEA Directive – and must therefore…

On Monday (20 October), together with partner organisations, we handed over 300,000 signatures to Icelandic Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson. Our message is clear: Iceland must finally put an end to cruel blood farms. The Minister listened to us and thanked us for our work, but did not make any official commitment.

Together with our partner organization Dýraverndarsamband Íslands (DÍS) in Iceland, we have reported the serious animal welfare violations we found during our investigation in Iceland to the police. The Icelandic authorities must take action before the next blood season begins.

In autumn 2024, we conducted further investigations into the production of the fertility hormone PMSG from the blood of pregnant Icelandic mares. The mares are semi-wild and have little contact with humans other than for blood collection. Recent footage, obtained at six blood farms, shows that the horses endure immense stress and suffering during…

From December 2023 to May 2024, our field teams regularly monitored the Biomega blood farm in Melo, Uruguay. At this facility, the fertility hormone PMSG is extracted from the blood of pregnant mares and used to enhance efficiency in industrial animal breeding.

The treatment of the mares at Biomega is both unprofessional and brutal. The terrified…

In early February, we spent a week observing the Argentine blood farm Syntex, where blood is taken from pregnant mares for the PMSG preparation Fixplan, which is exported to Europe and Germany.

On the pastures of Syntex, we found sheer misery. Nearly every other mare was lame or had open wounds. For years, we have criticized the blood collection…

In summer 2023, we conduct further investigations into the production of the fertility hormone PMSG in Iceland. The new footage from two blood farms shows that the suffering of the blood mares continues. They are kicked, beaten and confined in injury-inducing restraint boxes. The mares are frightened or panic, they resist and try to escape.

The…

During a six-day investigation in Argentina, we observe the Syntex blood farm. This blood farm keeps thousands of mares from which blood is taken during pregnancy for the production of the fertility hormone PMSG. We had already filmed the violent handling of the mares during blood collection in both 2015 and 2018. There have been no improvements to…

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…