SASKATOON – Members of international horse organizations and animal rights groups will tour Canadian Pregnant Mare’s Urine farms in February to investigate claims of abuse of horses used in collecting urine for hormone replacement therapy.
By having groups tour farms in three prairie provinces, PMU operators are hoping to deflect criticism by animal rights organizations that horses are mistreated, said Tom Hughes, president of the Canadian Farm Animal Care Trust, which is organizing the tour.
The group will tour 12 farms over three weekends. Hughes said they are already being criticized for letting producers know of the inspections beforehand. But the group has no legal authority to barge in on the operators and demand to see their operation, he said.
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Earlier in the year, investigators from the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said it uncovered evidence of “torture and abuse on Canadian PMU farms.
By opening their barns to the groups, Hughes is hoping PETA and other animal activists will drop their crusade against the industry.
There are 480 PMU farms on the Prairies and North Dakota. Urine from pregnant mares is used for production of estrogen hormones. Drugs are used in human hormone replacement therapy to treat symptoms of menopause.
Groups on the tour will include the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals from Britain, the American Association of Equine Veterinary Practitioners, the Canadian Equestrian Federation, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, the World Society of the Protection of Animals, the International League for the Protection of Horses and Can Fact.
The tour will also include two “practical stable operators” including the former chief inspector of the Ontario SPCA, said Hughes.
“It’s restricted to people who know horses. We only want people who are experts on equine care.”
The tour will visit Manitoba farms the first weekend in February, Saskatchewan farms during the third week and Alberta PMU farms two weeks later.
