Icelandic Blood Farms are Given a Pass

Iceland Allows Blood-Mare Industry to Continue for Two More Years

Photo credit: Tierschutzbund Zürich and Animal Welfare Foundation

Overview

Despite years of documented animal suffering and mounting evidence that alternatives to PMSG exist, Iceland’s Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) has granted pharmaceutical company Ísteka another permit to extract blood from pregnant mares.

The conditional permit, issued May 13, 2026, allows the practice to continue for another two years and authorizes blood collection from as many as 4,900 pregnant mares annually for the production of the fertility hormone PMSG/eCG.

The decision is especially troubling because MAST’s own Animal Welfare Council raised serious concerns about the application, including insufficient scientific justification, the availability of alternatives, and the number of animals involved. Yet MAST allowed the practice to continue. Read MAST’s decision.

What is PMSG?

Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG), also known as eCG, is a fertility hormone used in industrial animal agriculture to control and synchronize reproduction, particularly in pigs and cattle.

The hormone is obtained from the blood of pregnant mares. On Icelandic blood farms, large quantities of blood are repeatedly extracted from thousands of pregnant horses during a collection season.

The suffering behind this product is particularly difficult to justify when alternatives exist. Synthetic hormones and changes in animal husbandry and reproductive management can replace PMSG for many applications, and countries including Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland have demonstrated that intensive reliance on PMSG is not necessary. Learn more about PMSG.

Years of Documented Cruelty

Video credit: Tierschutzbund Zürich and Animal Welfare Foundation

Animals’ Angels, Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), and Tierschutzbund Zürich (TSB), together with other international animal welfare organizations, have been fighting Iceland’s blood-mare industry for years.

In September 2024, investigators once again documented disturbing treatment of semi-wild pregnant mares during blood collection. Footage showed frightened horses being beaten and poked with sticks and boards, forcefully restrained, and tethered with their heads held unnaturally high.

Approximately five liters of blood were taken from the pregnant mares during each weekly collection — while many were simultaneously nursing foals. Foals were separated from their mothers during the procedure, causing additional panic and distress.

The investigation challenged Ísteka’s repeated claims that previously documented mistreatment represented isolated incidents. Instead, investigators found that serious welfare concerns persisted despite years of promises that conditions would improve.

And the suffering extends beyond the mares themselves. Thousands of foals are produced as part of this system, with little economic value to the industry. Many ultimately end up at slaughter.

Read our full investigation: Latest Investigation Reveals Cruelty to Horses in Icelandic Blood Farms Continues.

We Are Challenging the Decision

Photo credit: Tierschutzbund Zürich and Animal Welfare Foundation

We refuse to allow this industry to continue without a fight.

On July 14, 2026, Animals’ Angels joined Icelandic and international animal welfare organizations in filing a formal legal challenge asking Iceland’s Minister of Employment to annul MAST’s decision and send the permit back for proper review.

Our attorney argues that MAST’s decision contains serious legal and procedural flaws. Among them:

• Alternatives exist. Icelandic and European animal-protection rules require alternatives to animal use to be considered whenever scientifically adequate methods are available. Even MAST acknowledges that alternatives to PMSG exist for many applications.
• MAST disregarded its own expert council. Iceland’s Animal Welfare Council raised concerns about the scientific justification for the project, the availability of alternatives, and the number of mares requested — and issued a negative opinion.
• The suffering has been repeatedly documented. Investigations have shown violence, rough handling, extreme restraint, and severe stress during blood collection, yet the industry has been allowed to continue.
• The harm-benefit analysis is deeply questionable. Our complaint challenges whether increasing the efficiency and profitability of industrial animal production can justify the pain, fear, and distress inflicted on thousands of pregnant mares.
• MAST’s review may not meet Iceland’s European obligations. The complaint argues that the permit fails to satisfy requirements governing animal experimentation under Icelandic law and the European Economic Area agreement, including requirements to replace, reduce, and refine animal use.

The coalition is asking the Ministry to annul the permit entirely. At minimum, we are demanding a complete reassessment of the application, including a meaningful evaluation of alternatives, an independent harm-benefit analysis, and monitoring free from financial conflicts of interest.

For years, Ísteka has promised improvements while investigators have continued to document suffering. Giving this industry another two years is not the answer.

Animals’ Angels and our partners will continue fighting to end blood farming in Iceland — and we’ll keep our supporters updated as our legal challenge moves forward.