The dark sickening reality of 'Horse Blood Farming'

 

Most people have never heard of horse blood farming, but once you do, it’s hard to forget.

It’s not something you’ll see on labels or in advertising. It operates largely out of sight, yet it plays a significant role in industrial farming systems around the world.

Behind closed doors, pregnant mares are repeatedly impregnated, their blood extracted in large volumes, and their pregnancies sometimes deliberately ended. All to produce a hormone used to increase productivity in factory farming.

This hormone is known as PMSG (also called eCG). While it occurs naturally in pregnant mares, the way it is commercially extracted raises serious and ongoing animal welfare concerns.

What is PMSG?

PMSG (eCG) is a hormone produced naturally in the blood of pregnant mares during the early stages of pregnancy.During this time, large volumes of blood are taken from them on a regular basis, which is then processed to extract the hormone.In some operations, pregnancies may be deliberately terminated so that mares can be re-impregnated sooner. This allows for multiple production cycles each year and maximises profit. 

The welfare concerns 

This system has been widely criticised by organisations including Animal Welfare Foundation and Tierschutzbund Zürich, who have been documenting conditions on blood farms for over a decade, with support from Eurogroup for Animals.Their findings raise serious concerns. High-volume blood extraction can leave mares weak, anaemic and vulnerable. Poor living conditions have been reported, with limited or no access to veterinary care. Repeated pregnancies and abortions raise profound ethical concerns, while a lack of consistent regulation in some countries allows these practices to continue.In major producing countries such as Argentina and Uruguay, investigations have documented particularly severe cases of mistreatment.

What recent investigations reveal

Between 2023 and 2025, new investigations by Animal Welfare Foundation and Tierschutzbund Zürich found little to no improvement in conditions.Mares were found injured, weak and emaciated, often without receiving appropriate veterinary care. Foals are systematically aborted so that mares can be re-impregnated, sometimes twice a year, increasing the physical toll on already exhausted animals.These findings have been brought together in a documentary film, featuring insights from veterinarians, legal experts and policymakers.At Animal Action Greece, equine welfare is at the heart of our work. Through our dedicated Equine Care Programme, we support working equines across Greece with veterinary treatment, farriery, dental care and long-term welfare support.We became aware of this issue through our partnership with Eurogroup for Animals. The reality of what is happening on blood farms was deeply shocking.It is also clear that many people are simply unaware this practice exists.That is why we are sharing this. By bringing attention to horse blood farming, we hope to help expose a system that relies on the repeated suffering of mares, and ensure it is no longer hidden from view.

Watch the investigation

If you want to understand the full reality of this industry, you can watch the documentary and trailer below:Documentary: 

https://youtu.be/n0CA1iNfuMA Trailer: https://youtu.be/ha8rRRbjofA

Learn more

To explore the latest findings and ongoing work to expose and end this practice, you can visit Animal Welfare Foundation’s dedicated page here:https://www.animal-welfare-foundation.org/en/projekte/blood-farms

Why this matters

The production of PMSG highlights a wider issue within industrial farming. Systems designed for maximum efficiency often come at the expense of animal welfare.What makes this particularly concerning is how hidden it is. Many people remain unaware that a hormone used to increase livestock productivity is linked to the repeated suffering of mares.

A call for change

Animal welfare organisations across Europe, including Eurogroup for Animals, are calling for stronger regulation and enforcement, greater transparency in supply chains, and an end to practices that rely on repeated harm to animals.Raising awareness is a crucial first step. The more people understand what happens behind the scenes, the harder it becomes for these practices to continue unnoticed.

• Animal Action Greece
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