BAN USE OF PREGNANT MARE URINE

BAN USE OF PREGNANT MARE URINE

PREGNANT MARE URINE is used for the treatment of SYMPTOMS IN POST MENOPAUSAL WOMEN.
We are seeking a ban to be placed on the collection of pregnant mare urine.
The process is inhumane and outdated.

The health and wellbeing of women, the mares and foals should be the only things considered.
The oestrogen rich urine brings in big dollars for Pfizer Canada. This should NOT factor into granting and placing a ban on PMU.

The key ingredient in the making of Premarin (registered) type drugs is derived from oestrogen rich pregnant mare's urine. (The advertising doesn't mention the source of the ingredients.)
The hormones in the urine are used to manufacture Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) products for treatment of symptoms in post menopausal women
It is manufactured by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (part of PFIZER since January 2009) and has been marketed since 1942.

If your doctor prescribes HRT, be sure to discuss your options and ask for one of the many humane alternatives to Premarin, such as hormone replacement tablets made from plant-derived oestrogens called phytoestrogens.

Many consumers are unaware of the cruel and inhumane treatment these horses often endure.
They are routinely impregnated and confined to narrow tie stalls with a urine collection harness in place for the sole purpose of facilitating the collection of their urine.

Urine collection begins in late fall (autumn) and runs through later winter. The mares are stabled during these months. They do receive water, but it is supplied only 4 – 5 times per day. The urine needs to be concentrated.

The foals which result from these pregnancies are weaned at approximately four months of age. Each pregnancy is eleven months.
It's an inhumane life for any animal. While in theory they have room to lie down, they cannot turn around or take more than a few steps forwards or backwards.

The fate of the foals – the by-products of the industry – and the mares who cannot conceive is bleak. Most are typically sold off at auction to kill buyers and ultimately end up at the slaughterhouse. Some are shipped live to Japan for the highly popular sushi market.
Mares unable to become pregnant are also routinely cast off by the industry and exposed to the risk of slaughter.

......The foals — and the mares which can't get pregnant any more — they are the by-product of the PMU industry. … We crush 'em and recycle 'em, just like (aluminium) cans.........—Canadian Slaughterhouse Buyer

Health concerns connected to the use of this product should not be ignored. Mares and foals suffer for a product that is not needed, especially when there are now many other options readily available.

"Although the number of mares in PMU barns has decreased significantly from an estimated high of 55-60,000 in the late 1990's, and there are no farms operating in the United States, right now there are reportedly 2,500 to 3,000 mares on PMU farms in Canada. In addition, Pfizer is now contracting with PMU farms overseas in countries like China, Poland and Kazakhstan.

Questions about links between Premarin® and Prempro® and the development of various cancers including breast and ovarian, as well as other life threatening conditions such as stroke and heart disease, led to a decline in use of these drugs over a decade ago. As a result, the market began to downsize significantly, causing many of the PMU ranches in North America to close their doors when they lost their contracts, which unfortunately resulted in many of the PMU mares being sent to slaughter."

"Pfizer Canada says it will increase the amount of PMU collected from ranches in Manitoba and Saskatchewan during 2016 and 2017. They see it as a welcome development for a once-booming industry reduced to a shadow of its former self by severe cutbacks over the last 15 years. It is also believed to be the first increase in contracted PMU volumes since Pfizer bought Wyeth Inc., the previous Premarin manufacturer, in 2009.
Pfizer would not reveal the amount of the increase, nor would it say how much PMU it currently contracts from its 19 operations."

"It will be a small increase over the current amount that we contract," was all Christina Antoniou, corporate affairs manager for Pfizer Canada in Montreal, would say in an email message to the Manitoba Co-operator. "We are currently in the process of contracting for 2016-17 and therefore cannot provide any further details."
...... But she indicated some previously mothballed PMU operations could reopen as a result. "We can confirm that we are in discussions with ranchers who have existing facilities for this type of operation. Our rancher suppliers are, and will continue to be, those with outstanding credentials in horse management and welfare."

While sourcing information on PMU, I came across a wonderful group, they are Dreamchaser PMU Horse Rescue & Rehabilitation and they are dedicated to the care of mares and foals from this industry. Ashaki is one of the first Premarin foals Dreamchaser PMU Rescue saved.   http://www.dreamchaserpmu.org/

As always, we ask that you read our reference links and ensure you are satisfied with what you are signing, sharing and tweeting.

Every effort is made to ensure the contents of this petition are factual.

REFERENCE LINKS:

http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animals-used-experimentation-factsheets/premarin-prescription-cruelty/

http://www.fundforanimals.org/duchess-sanctuary/about-the-duchess-sanctuary/pregnant-mare-urine.html?referrer=https://www.google.com.au/

http://www.animals24-7.org/2016/06/13/are-drugs-based-on-pregnant-mares-urine-making-a-comeback/

http://horsefund.org/pmu-fact-sheet.php

https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/news-opinion/news/pmu-sector-to-expand/

https://canadianhorsedefencecoalition.wordpress.com/2016/02/26/disturbing-news-about-pmu-and-manitoba-ranches/

https://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/premarin-horses-year-in-review-2016/

http://www.naeric.org/about.asp?strNav=4

http://www.premarin.org/

https://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/premarin-horses-year-in-review-2016/

http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2017/02/15/pmu-urine-factories-menopause-horse-industry/#axzz4gutvxg00

http://www.phoenixrisingsanctuary.org/Phoenix_Rising_Sanctuary/Whats_a_PMU.html

http://www.equisan.com.au/

https://www.equineadvocates.org/the-issues/pmu-industry/

http://www.affluentmagazine.com/charity/charity/28

http://www.dreamchaserpmu.org/ 

Photo credit: white mare PIXABAY