WINNIPEG – A company that buys pregnant mare’s urine from farmers has bought a demonstration ranch near Carberry, Man., to conduct research on how to best house and handle horses used in the industry.
Wyeth-Ayerst announced the purchase at the end of June as part of its response to recommendations from a team of horse specialists who toured PMU farms on the Prairies earlier this year.
Company representatives were not available for comment. Charlie Knockaert, a PMU farmer near Bruxelles, Man., said the 100-horse farm will be open to the public.
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Knockaert said the farm will also give the company a clear picture of what it costs producers to run their operations. “They’ve started to find out what it’s like to pay bills,” he said.
Art King, an Ontario veterinarian and an inspector on the tour, said research conducted at the farm will help clear the air on issues such as how much exercise the horses need and the best type of floors to have in barns.
Research required
“I realize that the industry is under a lot of attack, and I think that if they’re going to address the issues that they’re being attacked on, we need some basic research and scientific data to defend the industry,” King said.
During the tour, inspectors found no evidence that animals were being willfully neglected or abused, King said. “We know a lot about poultry and swine and cattle, but we don’t know a lot about horses when they’re housed in intensive systems.”
Opponents of the industry complain that horses are kept confined in tiny stalls for long periods as the urine is collected and foals are often cast aside as industry by-products.
King said farmers generally abide by an industry code of practice, but the inspection team made several recommendations that will help farmers improve the way they manage their operations. These include:
- Making sure outside exercise areas are clear of obstacles.
- Placing fire extinguishers in barns.
- Regularly updating the code of practice.
- Improving older barns to meet the standards in the code of practice.
- Keeping computerized records to track problems.
The team also recommended the company hire more inspectors and form an animal welfare advisory committee.
