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Pee Farms

Horse pee farms

The popular hormone replacement drug Premarin is made from pregnant mares' urine (the name Premarin is an abbreviation of these words). To collect the urine, tens of thousands of mares are condemned to confinement in small stalls on so-called pee farms. The information in this document comes from Horse Aid - for more details see their web site in the reference section.

Pregnant mares produce oestrogens in their urine, and these oestrogens are the active ingredients in Premarin. The mares are confined in small stalls in barns when they are about 4 months pregnant. The stalls measure only 8 feet by 3.5 feet, and the mares are tethered at the front. At the back a flexible rubber harness suspended from the ceiling is passed under the tail of each mare to collect urine 24 hours a day.

The mares are kept in these stalls for 6 months. In most cases they have no exercise - in the stalls they can't turn around or walk more than a step or two. The result is that they have a high rate of foot and leg problems. The rubber harness keeps the vulva area moist, which can lead to infections and irritation. The mares are not given free access to water. Instead a restricted amount of water is delivered automatically several times a day so that they mares don't drink too much and dilute their urine.

The mares are turned out into paddocks shortly before their foals are due. They are expected to be pregnant again within 2 weeks of giving birth, otherwise they are likely to be sent off to slaughter.

Once they are 4 months pregnant, the whole cycle starts again. Their foals are taken away, mostly to be slaughtered. Around 40,000 a year are killed - of female foals around 9/10 are killed and for males it is around 49/50. A few are sold as riding horses, and some female foals are kept as replacements for their mothers, but most are turned into meat.

There are 439 pee farms, most in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but some also in the US state of North Dakota. An estimated 55-65,000 mares are on the production line. Considering also the foals, stallions and replacement mares, well over 100,000 horses a year suffer for the production of Premarin.

Premarin was first introduced in 1942, before there were synthetic oestrogens. It is marketed by Wyeth-Ayerst, who take around $2 billion a year from this one product alone. In the US, over 3/4 of women who use Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) take Premarin. The percentage is probably similar in Australia. However, there are now many products made from synthetic oestrogens or from plants such as soy beans or yams. They can effectively alleviate the symptoms of menopause, without animal cruelty.

However, some groups such as the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in the US caution women against HRT of any kind. Oestrogen increases the risk of breast cancer. If HRT is being used to reduce the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, changes in diet and exercise can achieve this goal with fewer risks.

However, if you do decide to use HRT, please ask your doctor to prescribe one of the many products other than Premarin. By refusing to use Premarin women can stop the cruelty to horses on pee farms.

References

1. Horse Aid, Premarin(e) Q & A's

2. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, The risk of hormone replacement therapy