California Women Rescue Drug Maker's Discarded Horses from Their Death in Canada
Equestrian News Release
Horse Enthusiasts Seek Support, Adoption for Displaced PMU Horses
Acton, Calif (August, 2005) Tammy Craven and Vikki Dean, two horse women from Southern California, have launched a campaign to save an estimated 30,000 horses displaced by closures of 50 farms once used to produce Pregnant Mare Urine (PMU). PMU is used to make controversial female hormone replacement drug, Premarin (Wyeth Pharmaceuticals). The farm closures took place in May of 2005 and have led to many farmers selling the animals to slaughterhouses to recoup their investment.
Believe it or not, horses are sent to feedlots just like cattle and slaughtered into the same cuts of beef for sale in foreign countries such as Germany, France, Belgium Sweden and Japan, says Dean. In an effort to keep the horses from being slaughtered, the two California animal advocates have started a non-profit rescue organization, Canyon Creek Farm Horse Rescue, along with their website,that encourage the public to get involved with the rescue effort. http://www.canyoncreekfarm.com
The pair recently stepped up their campaign with a trip to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to not only visit the farms, and assess the situation, but to personally rescue thirty-four of the horses by purchasing them with personal funds. The horses are currently being shipped to their Acton farm to be put up for adoption.
Our goal is to place these well-bred, beautiful horses with loving, nurturing owners, says Craven, who hopes her organization can soon increase the number of horses they are able to rescue. The breeding of horses at the PMU farms is irresponsible by current standards. Each year, hundreds of purebred mares are pasture bred on each PMU farm to keep the drug industry supplied with estrogen. It is a vicious cycle, and with the farms now out of business, all the horses, mares, foals, yearlings and stallions are at risk. The horse market in Canada is saturated and the horses need our commitment to help them find homes immediately she added.
Part of Cravens and Deans mission is to also create public awareness of the conditions to which the horses on the 140 still active PMU farms are being subjected. According to Dean and Craven, the pregnant mares are forced to stand in 8x31/2 stalls, hooked to urine collection devices for six to seven months a year. Their foals are considered to be the byproducts of this industry.
The conditions are inhumane, says Dean. We dont blame the farmers, however. Many of them have been in operation for generations and this is the only life they know. In fact our hearts go out to those farmers who have lost their farms and livelihood when reports began to surface that the drug they played in a role in producing may cause health problems like breast cancer. Craven added, Unfortunately, its just one more example of how devastating this industry has been for many horses and humans.
As the horses most of them purebred and registered AQHA, Buckskin, Duns, Palominos, Grullas and Paints - begin to arrive at their Acton farm, Craven and Dean hope word will spread and people will get involved. These horses nearly met their demise but are now safe with us and looking to be adopted, says Craven, "they are all very deserving of homes."
Craven, a television producer and editor, is also hoping to raise awareness about this issue through a documentary she is producing on the subject. My hopes are to find a broadcast channel where animal lovers can watch and learn about whats going on and how they can get involved, she said.
For more information, or to make a contribution to the cause, visit http://www.canyoncreekfarm.com Canyon Creek Farm Horse Rescue is a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to placing PMU horses. All donations are tax-deductible.
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