Italian Horse Protection ONLUS |

IHP writes to the Italian Government: stop importation of PMSG immediately

18/05/2022

IHP President, Sonny Richichi comments: “It is a proven, well documented fact that the production of this hormone involves the torturing of pregnant mares. Together with organisations from 19 other countries, we have asked the European Commission for a complete ban on this product".

IHP has written to the Italian Ministry of Health and Agriculture, asking that Italy anticipate a proposed ban at the EU level, by immediately halting the importation and the use of PMSG (Equine Serum Gonadotropin), a hormone utilized in the production of drugs used in the intensive pig and beef farming sector.

20 animal welfare associations from as many countries (IHP for Italy) have now asked the European Commission to halt the production, importation and use of PMSG within the EU, in order to put an end to a market that causes intense suffering and death, as has been exposed by a number of independent enquiries. While waiting for the Decision to be passed down by the European authorities, IHP has asked the Italian government to block the importation and the use of PMSG in Italy, as well as to raise the issue at the EU level in the course of upcoming meetings of the Council of the European Union.

“For some time now,” explains IHP President, Sonny Richichi, “IHP, together with other European and non-European associations, has been condemning this inhumane practice of extracting blood from pregnant mares, from which the PSMG hormone is derived. The conditions in which this hormone is obtained are unacceptable, the pregnant mares are quite literally tortured. Since the first investigation in 2015, further investigations have brought to light more and more appalling practices linked to the extraction of blood, in order to derive this hormone. The most recent report was last November, and concerned the blood farms in Iceland. We backed up our report with videos obtained undercover in Argentina, Uruguay, and Iceland.”

“We have asked the European Commission to bring in an immediate ban, on the grounds that the production of PMSG does not respect the 3R principle, i.e. Replacement, Reduction and Refinement, on which the EU Directive on the welfare of animals used in scientific research is constructed.

There are numerous active substances on the market which could replace PMSG: in our opinion the experimentation on pregnant mares is illegal, since it satisfies neither the criterion of absolute necessity, nor is there any ethical justification. It should therefore be prohibited.

While waiting for the agreement among Member States urging the Commission to act, we have asked the Italian Government to act now, and place at least here, in Italy, an immediate ban on this atrocious and barbaric practice”.

VIDEO: blood farms in Iceland

VIDEO: the Syntex blood farm in Argentina

VIDEO: blood farms in South America

PETITION to the Italian Ministry of Health: No to Fixplan in Italy

PETITION to the EU Parliament: stop blood farms

ALL ARTICLES ON BLOOD FARMS:

Blood farms: associations do not give up (May 2022)

Blood farms: ONG write to the European Commissioner (December 2021)

European Parliament calls for ban the production and import of PMSG (November 2021)

Iceland investigation: drugs produced by torturing pregnant mares (November 2021)

European Parliament moves on horse meat imports and blood farms (September 2021)

4 MEPs ask the minister not to authorise Fixplan, which comes from torturing horses (June 2021)