More than 4,000 pregnant mares in Iceland are currently being subjected to regular stress, exploitation, abuse, and mistreatment at Icelandic blood farms. They are being bred and repeatedly bled in excess, so their hormones can be extracted and sold to industrial livestock producers. This is not medical treatment, it is unnecessary commercial hormone harvesting from pregnant animals.

On Icelandic blood farms, mares are intentionally impregnated so they enter a stage of pregnancy when their blood contains equine chorionic gonadotropin. During this window, large volumes of blood are withdrawn over several weeks, the hormone is processed, and the drug is exported primarily for use in unnecessary pig reproduction.

This is a serious welfare concern. Pregnant mares are subjected to repeated blood loss, restraint, stress, abuse and repetitive reproductive cycling for commercial gain. Investigations have documented injuries, forceful handling, and the physiological strain associated with high-volume blood withdrawal during pregnancy. Foals are often treated as by-products of the process. The entire cycle reduces pregnancy (a vulnerable biological state) into a raw material supply chain.

The hormone produced from these mares is NOT required for other animals to reproduce. Iceland’s Animal Welfare Act states that animals must be protected from unnecessary suffering, pain, and distress. We believe this practice conflicts with that principle.

Iceland has built a global reputation for high animal welfare standards but is FAILING MISERABLY when it comes to protecting their horses. Continuing the commercial extraction of blood from pregnant mares undermines their reputation and raises urgent ethical and legal questions that must be addressed worldwide.

POTENTIAL LAWS VIOLATED:

Icelandic Animal Welfare Act No. 55/2013

Directive 2010/63/EU (Animals Used for Scientific Purposes)

WELFARE FILMS: https://www.tierschutzbund-zuerich.ch/en/what-we-do/blood-farms/iceland​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkHP65O4RUg​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scu2BLJ4KGs​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UmxLezoFgI​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSaLu1HGfJA

LEARN HOW TO FILE ANIMAL ABUSE REPORTS HERE: https://raleighlinkshow.com/pages/equine-justice

FILE YOUR REPORTS WITH:
MAST - https://www.mast.is/en/contact-us
ICELANDIC POLICE - https://island.is/en/o/icelandic-police/report-a-crime
EFTA - https://www.eftasurv.int/