Animal Rights Campaign Cuts Premarin Horse Cruelty By Half

by ANC Staff

Following the summer release of Last Chance for Animals’ (LCA) investigation that exposed how the hormone replacement drug Premarin is made, the drug’s manufacturer Wyeth Ayerst announced a 50% cut back in production of the drug on October 14.

A stunning announcement that will save 20,000 mares from having to stand in tight stalls during their 150 day gestation period while their urine is collected to make the drug and another 20,000 foals that would face immediate slaughter, the statement rocked the Los Angeles headquarters of Last Chance for Animals.

The animal advocacy group partly credited the cutback to pressure they applied with a "How Premarin is Made" publicity campaign this summer.

The high profile drive re-introduced the July 10th anniversary of the National Institute of Health studies on Premarin showing increases in incidences of breast cancer (24%), heart attack (29%), stroke (41%) and blood clots (100%).

"This summer’s news identifying Premarin as the source for the most voracious of the cancer strains, and the drug’s connections with higher incidences of dementia was also significant news," said LCA founder, Chris eRose.

"All this has contributed to Wyeth’s struggle to recover from the 40% sales plummet the drug endured since 2002," he said.

The cutback is seen as a major victory for animal rights and for the 36% of the current US population who are women aged 45+, who are entering into or are in menopause.

The cutback is also a tribute to the 1,000,000 horses have perished in the history of Premarin production, said LCA.

"We commend Wyeth for taking this brave step," said Chris DeRose. "We hope that the public continues
to pressure Wyeth about the dangers of this drug and the disturbing manner in which the active ingredient is
harvested from pregnant mares urine."

"After working with noted women’s menopausal specialist and best-selling author on the subject, Dr. Jesse Hanley, we can say with certainty that there are alternative methods to curbing menopausal symptoms without torturing animals and threatening women’s lives," he added.

Founded in 1984 by Chris De Rose, Last Chance for Animals (www.lcanimal.org) is a national, nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to ending animal exploitation and suffering.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.