They are impregnated, locked in a box for six months and forced to urinate into bags for a pharmaceutical company.
And you thought your job was bad.
Every year, 75,000 horses are used to obtain the estrogen-replacement drug Premarin, and actress Bea Arthur came to Phoenix on Thursday to make sure menopausal women around the world know it.
Arthur declined to disclose her age, but said reporters could refer to her as "very menopausal."
The Golden Girls actress took to a hotel podium to shine a spotlight on the animal cruelty she alleged is involved in the production of Premarin. One of the top-selling drugs in America, its name is short for Pregnant Mare Urine.
"I warn you, I'm going to get very emotional," Arthur said, tearing up at the beginning of her speech introducing a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals video of a Premarin farm.
"What I saw was ugly," she said. "Their barn was little more than a prison, with a chain gang of horses tied up with a device to collect their urine."
For the last 50 years, Premarin has been the most popular estrogen-replacement drug on the market - and the only one made from animal sources.
PETA, a national animal-rights group, argues for synthetic and plant-based alternatives to the drug, which sold 33.6 million prescriptions last year.
The group says it has asked the drug manufacturer, Wyeth-Ayerst, to change its methods of dealing with the horses, but to no avail.
Repeated calls to Wyeth-Ayerst were not returned Thursday.
PETA also says it found in a 1994 investigation that the mares are reimpregnated two months after giving birth, for as many as 20 years. The foals are sold for human consumption in Japan and Europe.
The organization hopes its campaign will persuade the federal government to protect horses under the Animal Welfare Act. Failing that, it at least hopes to chip away at the number of Premarin prescriptions.
Such as the one Arthur had.
"I gave up Premarin as soon as I found out," she said, adding she now takes her hormones from a patch.
Estrogen-replacement therapy is used to combat several symptoms of menopause, such as osteoporosis, and has been shown to preserve the mental capacities of post-menopausal women.
PETA kicked off its campaign in Phoenix, a spokeswoman said, because of the many menopausal-age women here.
"For horse-lovers, horses represent freedom and beauty," said Colleen O'Brien, a PETA spokeswoman. "That's quite the opposite of the pregnant mare urine industry."
GRAPHIC: Photo by Tim Koors/The Arizona Republic; "I warn you, I'm going to get very emotional," says ex-Golden Girls star Bea Arthur, during a speech in Phoenix on Thursday.
Comments on this posting?
Click here to post a public comment on the Trash Talk Bulletin Board.
Click here to send a private comment to the Junkman.
Copyright © 1998 Steven J. Milloy. All rights reserved on original material. Material copyrighted by others is used either with permission or under a claim of "fair use." Site developed and hosted by WestLake Solutions, Inc.
Material presented on this home page constitutes opinion of Steven J. Milloy.