blood farms - yet another horrific animal cruelty
More people than ever are awakening to the grim reality of factory farming. Documentaries and investigations have brought greater awareness to what cows, pigs and chickens experience on factory farms. But there is another species that has been profoundly affected too, even if they donโt get the same attention: horses.ย
While itโs no secret that horses are used in the production of gelatin, there is another egregious practice that also involves these equine creatures: the extraction of a hormonal serum from pregnant mares, used by the meat industry to boost production of pork.
The livestock industry relies on this hormone to maximize pregnancy and birth. Used mostly on pig farms, but also on sheep and cattle operations, the point is to ensure as many pregnancies as possible, as quickly as possible.
The hormone - pregnant-mare-serum-gonadotrophin, now designated equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) - is usually given first to young sows to induce early puberty, which in turn triggers a kind of superovulation that results in larger litters. Just after they give birth, sows are then given PMSG to immediately induce estrus โ the period of time when a female animal is in heat โ so the cycle can start all over again.ย
Pregnant mares are forced to endure constant cycles of pregnancy and abortion in order to produce the hormone for extraction. Because lower levels of nutrition lead to higher levels of PMSG in the blood, blood farm operators have been found to feed pregnant mares very little, leaving them emaciated.
Germany has identified 36 synthetic alternatives to PMSG that are made without animals, yet the livestock industry continues to source PMSG from blood farms creating a constant cycle of suffering for horses and pigs that has become a hallmark of industrial meat.ย
Source: Sentient Media.
Image with kind permission from the Ethic Whisper.
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