PMULine
Directory
PROOF THAT PMU HORSES ARE GOING TO SLAUGHTER.
One of the common claims of the PMU industry is that the tens of thousands
of foals born every year to PMU mares aren't going to slaughter. Rather, the
industry argues that most of the foals are being bought as replacement stock
or for breeding, pleasure riding or show.
Animal advocates, including UAN representatives who have seen the Premarin
foals and mares being bought by the pound at annual auctions and then carted
off to feedlots, know that isn't the case. And a recent report from the
Manitoba government offers at least some official proof of the tragic fate
of the foals.
The Manitoba Department of Agriculture and Food, in its 1999 profile of the
"horse sector" industry, boasts that the province had "Canada's largest
herd
of mares used for pregnant mare's urine (PMU) collection" with 24,985 mares
on 254 PMU ranches during the 1999-2000 season. The report then goes on to
state that about 40 percent of the foals born to these mares go to
"finishing enterprises" and "some of the colts" are sold to Bouvry
Exports
Ltd. of Fort McLeod, Alberta. (Report is online at
www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/statistics/aac02s05.html)
Bouvry Exports is Canada's largest horse slaughterhouse and horsemeat
exporter, sending more than 12,000 tons of horsemeat overseas to France,
Italy, Japan and other countries in 1998. Interviewed by The Western
Producer in 1999, company head Claude Bouvry affirmed that the PMU industry
is his "biggest source of supply."
Meanwhile, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which tracks horse slaughter
statistics for the nation, recently reported that 62,351 horses were
slaughtered in Canada in 1999. That's a slight drop from the 64,402 horses
who were slaughtered in 1998, but still translates into tens of thousands of
tragic deaths (PMU horses among them) purely to satisfy the cravings of
foreign meat markets. (Canadian slaughterhouse statistics are available
online at www.agr.ca/aisd/redmeat/markets.html.
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WYETH-AYERST FIGHTING
BACK OVER ANTI-TRUST LAWSUIT.
Nearly two months after rival Duramed (maker of Cenestin) filed an
anti-trust lawsuit against Wyeth-Ayerst alleging it was monopolizing the
market with Premarin, Wyeth-Ayerst's attorneys have responded to the suit
with a motion to dismiss Duramed's anti-trust claims as unfounded.
In its response to the anti-trust suit (available via Duramed's site at
www.duramed.com) Wyeth-Ayerst claims that even
though some managed health
care providers only offer Premarin on their drug "formulary" list, patients
needing hormone replacement therapy can still ask for alternatives such as
Cenestin. (That is, if the patients have the courage and the persistence to
challenge the system!) Moreover, Wyeth-Ayerst claims that the "financial
incentives" it offers to managed care providers to limit its HRT to Premarin
aren't anti-competitive because these arrangements can always be cancelled
by the managed care provider if they choose. (That's if they choose to turn
their back on rebates, discount fees and other benefits offered by Wyeth-Ayerst).
Wyeth-Ayerst has asked for an oral argument in court on the suit. We'll keep
you posted if this challenge to Premarin's monopoly on the market heads to
court.
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In other
news about Wyeth-Ayerst and its parent company American Home Products, the latest advertising figures from the company show that
American
Home Products spent a whopping $34.6 million advertising Prempro (one of its
estrogen tablets derived from pregnant mares' urine) in 1999.
If you've been reading any of the major women's magazines, you've probably
seen the ads. "It's something I do for myself every day" is a slogan found
in many of the ads in McCalls, Good Housekeeping, Reader's Digest, Family
Circle, Ladies Home Journal and other publications. Of course, non-profit
groups like United Animal Nations can't compete with that type of
advertising budget, but we're doing our best to get the word out via our
membership and other compassionate individuals like yourself. If you'd like
some of our Premarin brochures to distribute to friends, colleagues, family
members or even your doctor, just send us an email at info@uan.org
and let
us know how many you need.