Horse blood farms?

fburton

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Wondered if anyone had heard about this... It sounds ghastly! :(

Info copied from an Avaaz petition someone just sent me (https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/horse_blood_loc/?slideshow):

The cruel trade with pregnant mare blood (Animals' Angels USA)
http://www.animalsangels.org/invest...-united-states-uruguay-and-argentina-9-30-15

Blood farms investigation (Animal Welfare Foundation)
http://animal-welfare-foundation.org/en/what-we-do/blood-farms.html

Turning horse blood into profits (The Dodo)
https://www.thedodo.com/turning-horse-blood-into-profits-1382177497.html

Why is the world out for horses’ blood? (The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...s-china-donkeys-wild-horses-us-mass-slaughter
 

MotherOfChickens

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I hadn't heard of the pregnant mare blood, but we have (highly regulated) blood farms in this country as well-there have been numerous threads about them? The blood is used for laboratory products sucj as blood agar.
 

Wagtail

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Sickening. Makes me even more glad I do not support the production of meat anymore. Animals used to be valued. Meat used to be a special treat. Now it's three times a day for some people and it just gets cheaper and cheaper and more prettily wrapped so people become further removed from what it actually is. Trying to get pigs to produce more? Greed, plain greed.
 

Wagtail

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I hadn't heard of the pregnant mare blood, but we have (highly regulated) blood farms in this country as well-there have been numerous threads about them? The blood is used for laboratory products sucj as blood agar.

I think the difference here is that the blood banks in this country have a vested interest to keep their animals stress free because otherwise the blood products are virtually worthless. But the practice the OP has linked to does not require stress-free animals because they are just after a hormone to make pigs produce more young.
 

MotherOfChickens

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I think the difference here is that the blood banks in this country have a vested interest to keep their animals stress free because otherwise the blood products are virtually worthless. But the practice the OP has linked to does not require stress-free animals because they are just after a hormone to make pigs produce more young.

the links the OP put up are primarily, but not only about pregnant mare's blood. I'm not going to argue about this again, I've nothing against the UK blood farms, but they are blood farms and to call them anything else is disingenuous. Blood products for lab consumables do not need to be 'stress free' they need to be drug and disease free. They are highly regulated though through the Home Office and only allowed to take small amounts (relatively) each bleed and the horses' welfare is also governed by the HO. Unfortunately for horses, they are large and contain alot of blood and easily kept.

Where is this hormone used in the pig industry? the UK? elsewhere?
 
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Wagtail

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the links the OP put up are primarily, but not only about pregnant mare's blood. I'm not going to argue about this again, I've nothing against the UK blood farms, but they are blood farms and to call them anything else is disingenuous. Blood products for lab consumables do not need to be 'stress free' they need to be drug and disease free. They are highly regulated though through the Home Office and only allowed to take small amounts (relatively) each bleed and the horses' welfare is also governed by the HO. Unfortunately for horses, they are large and contain alot of blood and easily kept.

Where is this hormone used in the pig industry? the UK? elsewhere?

I have discussed this at length with the head manager of the blood bank/farm down in Bucks. He explained that blood is much more readily available and cheap from abattoirs. However, due to the stress the animals are under when going to slaughter, the blood products are practically useless for much of what the pharmaceutical companies require because the stress hormones cause it to break down and also are a contaminant. I walked around the place myself and I have never seen happier horses in my life. They were all groomed, shiny and even had their tails brushed and trimmed. I prefer to rely on my own first hand experience of the place and can hand on heart say that those horses have a fantastic and stress free life.

I had not even heard of the hormone farming to increase pig production until the OP posted it.
 

applecart14

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I don't really want to get into the 'blood letting' farcical either but I will say this much. As far as I know there are two Equine Blood Banks in this country, one down in Bucks who I know the owners of several horses who have successfully moved there after their horses could no longer be ridden. There is also one in Scotland. They do intakes twice per year, the horses live out from April - Oct in large herds which is as natural existence as a horse could dream of, and in the winter they are housed in large barns with ad lib forage.

The horses have a small feed whilst they are bled and this encourages them to relax and enjoy the experience, if such a thing can be labeled as enjoyment - a bit like we have a biscuit and a cuppa tea when we donate blood. Its hardly the end of the world for them, something that should be put into context. They are not strapped down in a cattle crush and hacked at with a machete which certain people on this forum seem to imagine judging by previous posts on the subject!

Equine Blood Banks seem to get bad 'press' coverage on this forum but from my experience (gained second hand from best friend and a number of other livery friends) it is a wonderful alternative for a six year old horse who is otherwise fit and healthy and has his whole life ahead of him. Their alternative? To be passed from pillar to post, owner to owner or pts when diagnosed with something which means they cannot be ridden anymore.
 

Antw23uk

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I don't really want to get into the 'blood letting' farcical either but I will say this much. As far as I know there are two Equine Blood Banks in this country, one down in Bucks who I know the owners of several horses who have successfully moved there after their horses could no longer be ridden. There is also one in Scotland. They do intakes twice per year, the horses live out from April - Oct in large herds which is as natural existence as a horse could dream of, and in the winter they are housed in large barns with ad lib forage.

The horses have a small feed whilst they are bled and this encourages them to relax and enjoy the experience, if such a thing can be labeled as enjoyment - a bit like we have a biscuit and a cuppa tea when we donate blood. Its hardly the end of the world for them, something that should be put into context. They are not strapped down in a cattle crush and hacked at with a machete which certain people on this forum seem to imagine judging by previous posts on the subject!

Equine Blood Banks seem to get bad 'press' coverage on this forum but from my experience (gained second hand from best friend and a number of other livery friends) it is a wonderful alternative for a six year old horse who is otherwise fit and healthy and has his whole life ahead of him. Their alternative? To be passed from pillar to post, owner to owner or pts when diagnosed with something which means they cannot be ridden anymore.

Couldnt have put it better myself. I did have a strange dream about two horses trying to climb out of the Bucks blood bank fields a few months back, it was all very weird. I put it down to the fact I drive past it daily to and from work and often look out to see if the herd is at the gate ... funny how the mind works :)
 

Wagtail

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I don't really want to get into the 'blood letting' farcical either but I will say this much. As far as I know there are two Equine Blood Banks in this country, one down in Bucks who I know the owners of several horses who have successfully moved there after their horses could no longer be ridden. There is also one in Scotland. They do intakes twice per year, the horses live out from April - Oct in large herds which is as natural existence as a horse could dream of, and in the winter they are housed in large barns with ad lib forage.

The horses have a small feed whilst they are bled and this encourages them to relax and enjoy the experience, if such a thing can be labeled as enjoyment - a bit like we have a biscuit and a cuppa tea when we donate blood. Its hardly the end of the world for them, something that should be put into context. They are not strapped down in a cattle crush and hacked at with a machete which certain people on this forum seem to imagine judging by previous posts on the subject!

Equine Blood Banks seem to get bad 'press' coverage on this forum but from my experience (gained second hand from best friend and a number of other livery friends) it is a wonderful alternative for a six year old horse who is otherwise fit and healthy and has his whole life ahead of him. Their alternative? To be passed from pillar to post, owner to owner or pts when diagnosed with something which means they cannot be ridden anymore.

Exactly. I don't have personal experience of the one in Scotland, but my sister does. She took a horse there a year ago and still receives regular updates with photographs of her boy. He looks extremely healthy and happy.
 

applecart14

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Couldnt have put it better myself. I did have a strange dream about two horses trying to climb out of the Bucks blood bank fields a few months back, it was all very weird. I put it down to the fact I drive past it daily to and from work and often look out to see if the herd is at the gate ... funny how the mind works :)

Aren't you the poster who put that you have stopped at the same gate for years in the hope of seeing your horse there and the wonderful reaction that you had anticipated, only to see him, call him and he stuck his head up for a split second and then carried on grazing!

I think that says it all really. Not exactly stressed are they? lol :)
 

MotherOfChickens

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I have discussed this at length with the head manager of the blood bank/farm down in Bucks. He explained that blood is much more readily available and cheap from abattoirs. However, due to the stress the animals are under when going to slaughter, the blood products are practically useless for much of what the pharmaceutical companies require because the stress hormones cause it to break down and also are a contaminant. I walked around the place myself and I have never seen happier horses in my life. They were all groomed, shiny and even had their tails brushed and trimmed. I prefer to rely on my own first hand experience of the place and can hand on heart say that those horses have a fantastic and stress free life.

I had not even heard of the hormone farming to increase pig production until the OP posted it.

well of course there is a difference between PM blood and blood taken from a live animal. I have first hand experience of the blood farms in Scotland-they are not bad places-but they are farming them for blood.
 

fburton

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Exactly. I don't have personal experience of the one in Scotland, but my sister does. She took a horse there a year ago and still receives regular updates with photographs of her boy. He looks extremely healthy and happy.
I've personal experience with the one in Scotland, albeit way back in the late 1980s - and that was very positive overall.
 

Antw23uk

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Aren't you the poster who put that you have stopped at the same gate for years in the hope of seeing your horse there and the wonderful reaction that you had anticipated, only to see him, call him and he stuck his head up for a split second and then carried on grazing!

I think that says it all really. Not exactly stressed are they? lol :)

Nope not me but a friend has a lovely young WB there who thanks to the blood bank has a longer life retired and turned out in a herd rather than being pts because of soundness issues.
 

Wagtail

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well of course there is a difference between PM blood and blood taken from a live animal. I have first hand experience of the blood farms in Scotland-they are not bad places-but they are farming them for blood.

I don't know why you seem to think farming them for blood is bad. Humans go and give their own blood. I have on many occasions until I started suffering from continuous hypotension. It's a breeze. I don't think horses even notice (unless they are needle phobic - in which case the blood banks would not have them). Blood bank or blood farm, the terminology makes no difference. Far better for an animal than to be farmed for meat IMO. Most of them probably lead happier, more content lives than three quarters of the horses owned by people on this forum, myself included. My horses are very happy, but I cannot compete with what I saw down in Bucks. The endless fields, the balanced and content herds that they are never separated from. Even in winter they have very large outdoor turnout attached to their barns. It's not grass, but I'd love to be able to afford my horses something similar.
 

ester

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Where did MoC say it was bad? She specifically said they weren't bad places. I've never understood why they were called blood banks, unless you count the blood in the animal as banked. It is farmed for products and profit, nothing wrong with it just fact.

The term blood bank is usually only used for collected and stored blood I suspect it also makes people think that their products being used to sustain life given the responses of people on this forum previously anyway.
 
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fattylumpkin

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Historically, blood farms for horses gave us the first vaccines for diphtheria, small pox, and more :) horses are ideal donors for a number of reasons. But those links in OP's posts gave me the chills, I hope they aren't many like that! :(
 

Wagtail

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didnt say it was at any point?

Where did MoC say it was bad? She specifically said they weren't bad places. I've never understood why they were called blood banks, unless you count the blood in the animal as banked. It is farmed for products and profit, nothing wrong with it just fact.

The term blood bank is usually only used for collected and stored blood I suspect it also makes people think that their products being used to sustain life given the responses of people on this forum previously anyway.

Then I misunderstood the intention behind the posts. MofC appeared to be emotively hammering home the fact that they were farming for blood as though it were a bad thing. Were you just trying to correct the terminology, MofC?
 

Mule

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Whatever about UK blood farms/ banks, the info the OP linked to is horrendous. I signed the petition. It's revolting for any animal to be used in such a way simply to increase the efficiency of meat production.
I eat meat but we don't need to eat it in the quantities we currently do. It's stomach churning.
 

MotherOfChickens

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Were you just trying to correct the terminology, MofC?

yes, of course. ester is right.the terminology is important because the term farming in itself shouldnt be held as derogatory (which some of the headlines you see imply). unregulated blood farming is something else and I suspect that many of the places in the OPs links are somewhat less regulated than those in the UK.

Because of the HO regulations in the UK, the horses at blood farms here will have better lives than many privately kept horses. I have never implied otherwise. But it is what it is.
 

Hunter84

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I sent my horse to the blood bank last year its a really nice place and considering you have hundreds of horses in the open they all just had their heads down eating and they all looked in great condition and incredibly relaxed, it was the best decision i made and im glad i saw it for myself!
 

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I've blocked emails from Avaaz now as I seem to get one every day and many of their causes are a bit pathetic tbh. This blood farming one was illustrated by some apparently random picture of a dead horse with part of its face missing. What has that to do with anything? I made the mistake of signing one of their petitions months ago and have since come to realise they don't seem to actually do anything other than get worked up in a frenzy over almost everything and collect signatures for their petitions...then what? I'm happy to be corrected but as far as I can see they're just keeping themselves employed.
 

Wagtail

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yes, of course. ester is right.the terminology is important because the term farming in itself shouldnt be held as derogatory (which some of the headlines you see imply). unregulated blood farming is something else and I suspect that many of the places in the OPs links are somewhat less regulated than those in the UK.

Because of the HO regulations in the UK, the horses at blood farms here will have better lives than many privately kept horses. I have never implied otherwise. But it is what it is.

Ah, got where you're coming from now. I'm a bit slow today!
 
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