In the same vein as the recent post about horse slaughter, I got to thinking about Premarin/Prempro. What are everyone’s thoughts on that issue? There are alternatives to these drugs (see link) but I don’t know how effective they are compared with Premarin.
http://www.eponarescue.org/Premarin/premarin_alternatives.html
For those that don’t know, Premarin/Prempro are hormone replacement drugs taken by menopausal women to replace the estrogen in their bodies. They are made from the urine of pregant mares, which contains large amounts of estrogen.
The two main problems are the treatment of the pregnant mares, who continually have catheters in them, and then of course the disposal of the resulting foals (generally sold to slaughter.)
This is the most "unbiased" informational link I could find on the Premarin industry:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/equine_protection/the_facts_about_premarin.html
Nixity – What are your sources? I didn’t hear anything about this "being on the way out", and I’d like to read more about it. I don’t understand how this could be moot, as they have been no synthetic HRT drugs developed (that I know of) and they’re going to run out of Premain SOMEtime…
Nixity – Thanks for posting all this info and the links. I just meant, where did you hear this (a magazine or whatever?) I did a could Google searches but couldn’t come up with anything other than "Agency X wishes Premarin was on the decline."
As for thumbs up/down, I don’t know why Yahoo Answers bothers. Pointless. If someone doesn’t like an answer, ignore it.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Premarin farms are actually on the way out, which is why a large majority of the mares themselves (and their foals) are either being sent to slaughter or rescues to try to place into homes.
They have so much already in bulk they don’t need as many in production now.. so it’s kind of a moot point/debate.
———— EDIT
Ugh.. of course, thumbs down because I have to do the research for you, I guess:
Here..
"NAERIC claims there are 7,000 broodmares working on PMU farms, in contrast
to 2004 statistics, when, according to one source[6], NAERIC reported 35,000 broodmares, and some horse
welfare organizations put the figure at 50,000 to 60,000. Due to cutbacks in PMU production, a fall 2003
bulletin by CANFACT stated PMU farms had reduced the total number of mares by 16,000 to 18,000."[1]
"Studies have shown the drugs may have unsafe side effects, so their demand is waning. The Centers for Disease Control reports that hormone replacement therapies may increase individuals’ risk of breast cancer.
Now, thousands of mares, mainly in Canada but also in the United States, are no longer needed and must be rescued or sent to slaughterhouses, Holland said. Their meat may be sold in Europe and other places where it is considered a delicacy." [2]
"With the closing of the pmu farms, we have been busy purchasing bred mares to keep them from going to auction. Needless to say, last winter we took on over 40 draft mares, so right now we are overwhelmed with all the babies!!" [3]
The list of available information goes on and on. Please realize that while the sometimes seem benign, organizations like ASPCA and PETA as well as the AHS often have biased viewpoints and don’t provide all the evidence.
I said production was slowing down – the farms are closing.. yes, there are still farms, but there are not nearly as many now as there have been in the past.
———– EDIT#2
Actually, there are plant pharmaceutical alternative HRTs.. so yeah.
———– Edit #3: Sorry for the long post and additional edits, just trying to answer your questions. I heard about it when I was first looking to sell my last gelding over a year ago. When it became obvious to me I might have to trade him, I started looking to trade him for foals. I didn’t end up going with any PMU foals because they were all so far away from me (I’m in Florida) – I ended up trading for two foals from Southern Cross Ranch in GA.. but in my search, I learned about the PMU Mares and Foals and how flooded the rescues are because the farms have started to decline/shut down.. and they are having difficulty placing the mares because they’re often extremely difficult to handle..
this issue relies me more than any other horse issue i get real pissed about it. i best just step back
Basically FUCK EVERYONE IN THE PREMARIN INDUSTRY YOUR THE WORST
It is an individaul choice made by women and their doctors as to what is best for each person.
Personally I would never take either one and my docotr will be told why I would never consider those meds.
If there is not something else my choice would be to learn to deal with the symtoms.
I will not take a drug that is made from the abouse of horses.