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Premarin
The truth behind one of today’s most widely prescribed drugs will shock you. Get the facts and get involved.
What Is Premarin®?
Premarin®, a drug derived from pregnant mares’ urine (PMU), is prescribed to alleviate symptoms of menopause and to prevent osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. The estrogen-rich urine used in its production is collected from mares confined in barns on PMU ranches in Canada and the United States. Despite the availability of humane alternatives, including lifestyle changes and plant-derived or synthetic medicines, Premarin, PremPro, PremPac and PremPhase are among the most widely prescribed and profitable drugs in America. Women, doctors and the general public must be made aware of the unnecessary stress and pain inflicted on horses in the manufacture of these drugs, and of the alternatives from nonanimal sources that exist.
How Do Horses Suffer in the Production of Premarin®?
The Premarin industry is self-regulated through manufacturer Wyeth Ayerst’s Code of Practice, but there are more than 70 farms and no outside scrutiny. Mares used in the production of conjugated estrogens are at risk for abrasions, leg swelling, excessive boredom, stress, and an early death, due to the conditions under which they are kept. The mares are:
- strapped to urine collection bags six months a year;
- tied in narrow stalls that do not allow them to turn around or lie down flat;
- denied free, continual access to water, and
- exercised, if at all, according to the rancher’s assessment of how much each mare needs, because there is no minimum in the Code of Practice.
Mares are kept in production, foaling every year, for eight to nine years. When no longer able to reproduce, they are sold for slaughter. Under normal circumstances, a domestic equine will live 20 to 25 years.
What Happens to the Foals Who Are Born?
Every year, thousands of foals who are born as “by-products” of this industry are sent to auction. Many of them eventually end up in slaughterhouses, where they are sold to meat markets in Europe and Japan. The first time Helen Meredith of the United Pegasus Foundation attended an auction of Premarin foals in Manitoba, Canada, what she saw was “absolutely devastating.” Hundreds of terrified foals as young as three months were run through the auction and loaded onto cattle trucks for a trip to the feedlot—where they would live until they were large enough for the slaughter plant.
The ASPCA supports the work of several dedicated individuals and organizations who are trying to save as many of these foals as possible and find them loving, responsible homes.
Are There Any Alternatives to Premarin®?
It is time for our society to see menopause as a natural life process rather than a disease. Lifestyle changes, such as exercise and a better diet, can be effective in maintaining health and lowering the health risks associated with menopause. There are FDA-approved plant-derived and synthetic medications that have the same effect as Premarin. Hormone replacement therapy has its own risks. Recent studies show that long term use of PremPro increases the risk of breast cancer, heart attacks, blood clots and strokes. Women should consult with their doctors about all the treatments available in order to make an informed, safe, effective and ethical choice.
Dr. Ray Kellosalmi, a Canadian physician involved in Premarin foal rescue, sums up the sad truth: “Unfortunately, it is easy and comfortable for physicians to prescribe drugs that have been around for a long time. It is also easy not to think about our contribution to the cruel chain of events that our prescriptions may allow, and thus the PMU industry is supported by our acquiescence. But the doomsday clock is again well on its way for tens of thousands of innocent lives that, once again, will end in terror needlessly. With a few strokes of the prescribing pen, we are able to decide the fate of future innocents.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Share this information with doctors and friends.
- Visit http://www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=54 to stay informed of the latest PMU industry news and sign up for their PMULines newsletter.
- Respectfully voice your protest to the maker of PMU-derived conjugated estrogens:
Robert Essner, President
Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories
PO Box 8299 Philadelphia, PA 19101 (800) 999-9384
FOAL RESCUE AND ADOPTION
A better understanding of the risks of long term HRT led to drastic cuts in Premarin® production by the manufacturer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, starting in the fall of 2003. More than 20,000 horses, most of them pregnant, were potentially affected by the initial cuts. While we were encouraged by the cuts, the “unemployed” horses need good homes. Click here for more information on sponsoring or adopting a rescued foal.
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