PMULine Directory

WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING US:
Survey Shows Doctors Don't Disclose Premarin Comes from Pregnant Mares

A new survey of 600 U.S. menopausal women offers further proof that women
are being kept in the dark about the source of Premarin and the availability
of proven alternatives for hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

The survey, which was commissioned by Solvay Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer
of several plant-based therapies, found that U.S. women frequently aren't
given information about the source of their HRT.

Even more telling is the fact that most participants in the survey were not given
a choice of therapies when they got their first prescription. Of those using
HRT, 68 percent reported they were given only one choice and of those who
had stopped taking HRT, 91 percent said their options were limited to one
choice for HRT by medical care professionals.

The survey also found that the majority of the 45 to 55-year old respondents
and a large percentage of all respondents taking HRT would prefer to take a
plant-based product.

A news release about the survey is available at the www.prnewswire.com
website (enter "hormone replacement therapy" in the search option to find
the news release) or send an email to info@uan.org and we can e-mail you a
copy.

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HORSE ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE PAINTS
ROSY PICTURE OF LIFE IN PMU BARNS.
An article in the January 2001 issue of Horse Illustrated appears to have
accepted the PMU industry claim that all is well for the Premarin mares
tied up in PMU barns.

Entitled "PMU Mares: Use or Abuse?," author Marcia King relies on an
interview with Douglas Freeman, an equine veterinarian employed by
Wyeth-Ayerst, for most of her description of life inside the barns. Among
the several claims Freeman makes in this interview are that mares are
getting as much water as they can drink every day (through an automated
system) and that they get as much exercise as they need (which Freeman
explains is once a week or once every other week).

King does touch on the "controversy" of tie stalls versus box stalls and
quotes another equine specialist, Sue McDonnell, of the University of
Pennsylvania, as stating that tie stalls are better than box stalls because
the PMU horses aren't isolated from each other. (King fails to note here
that PMU mares are also tied up to urine collection devices and are tied up
in relatively small stalls.)

As for the foals discarded for slaughter, King sums up this issue by stating
that it's all a matter of how each of us views our role in the food chain --
or, in other words, about how we feel about humans eating horses.

To urge Horse Illustrated to take a closer look at the PMU industry,
including the fact that all this cruelty isn't even necessary since
alternatives exist, write to: The Mail Pouch, Horse Illustrated, Editorial Office, PO Box
650, Mission Viejo, CA 92690, FAX: (949) 855-3045. (NOTE: Copies of Horse
Illustrated are usually available in major libraries. If you can't find the
article and would like a copy mailed to you, just send an email to
mailto:info@uan.org

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UAN's FIRST RESCUED PREMARIN MARES GETS FRONT PAGE BILLING IN OREGON.

Kandy, UAN's first-ever rescued Premarin mare, recently made front page
headlines in Grants Pass, Oregon, along with her adopted Premarin foal,
Winnie.

The Grants Pass Daily Courier featured the pair in a front page article
which describes their rescue from the Labor Day auctions in Winnipeg,
Canada, by UAN representatives and their adoption by local resident Cheryl
Ruigomez and her family.

The article, which includes a wonderful color photograph of Cheryl feeding
hay to both Winnie and Kandy, tells the story of how Cheryl got involved
in the Premarin issue after her doctor tried to prescribe Premarin for her.
She researched the medication, found out where it came from, and told her
doctor she wouldn't take it. But she wanted to do more so she contacted UAN
about adopting a mare and, by October, Kandy and the foal she adopted at the
auctions had been added to her family.

The real story behind the headlines, though, is that Cheryl was actually
able to stand with both Kandy and Winnie close by to pose for the newspaper
photo. After years standing in a PMU barn, Kandy is understandably very
skittish about being around humans and promptly jumped a six-foot fence on
the day she arrived at Cheryl's home. The fact that she is now eating hay
out of Cheryl's hand -- and will live her life in peace in Cheryl's pasture -- is
the true miracle.

UAN plans to try to rescue more Premarin mares in 2001. Anyone interested in
adopting a mare can contact us at info@uan.org for more information on the
program and our requirements. Applications will be mailed out in the spring.

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