An: Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider
Call for a legal ban on the torture hormone PMSG in Switzerland
deutsch - français - italiano - Total number of signatures in all language versions
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On blood farms in Iceland and South America, pregnant mares are brutally drained of litres of blood in order to extract the fertility hormone PMSG (Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin) from it. The frightened animals are driven into narrow boxes and forcibly restrained during the process of drawing blood from them by the use of thick cannulas. The mares are subjected to systematic cruelty (1).
PMSG is used worldwide in industrial animal breeding, especially in pig breeding where it is used to ensure that all sows on a farm come into heat at the same time. PMSG is therefore used exclusively to increase efficiency in agriculture. The use of PMSG is also authorised in Switzerland but, in 2022, the Swiss Farmers' Union (SBV) banned the use of the hormone under private law (2). However, this industry ban could be revoked at any time, for example due to changes in market conditions.
We are therefore calling on Federal Councillor Baume-Schneider, as head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (EDI), to ban the production, import and use of PMSG. The ban should no longer be based on the voluntary behaviour of the industry but should be enshrined in legislation.
Please support our demand with your vote!
https://youtu.be/tghLOHXHvVw
Please support our demand with your vote!
https://youtu.be/tghLOHXHvVw
Warum ist das wichtig?
The production of PMSG in Iceland and South America is contrary to animal welfare. Semi-wild, pregnant mares are forcibly drained of up to ten litres of blood per week for two to three months. Sick and injured mares are left to fend for themselves, especially in Argentina and Uruguay. The foals are nothing but a waste byproduct: in Iceland they are slaughtered, in South America they are aborted. A product obtained under such inhumane conditions should not be used in Switzerland.
The use of PMSG causes suffering for sows and piglets. The hormone is usually used in healthy sows. The tightly synchronised births place an enormous strain on the sows. Even weak and exhausted animals are forced into heat by using the hormone. As a result of breeding selection and hormonal manipulation, more piglets are often born than the mother can feed. Excess piglets starve to death or are killed.
A legal ban on the hormone of misery is long overdue. The production and use of PMSG only serves economic interests and pursues the goal of producing masses of cheap pork. The industry's voluntary ban is to be welcomed. It applies to all livestock farms that participate in the ‘QM Swiss Meat’ programme - which includes the vast majority of farms. In order to create legal certainty and a level playing field for all farmers, a legal ban must now follow. Switzerland sees itself as a pioneer in the field of animal welfare. A ban on PMSG would fulfil this claim and send a clear signal to the outside world. The use of PMSG is neither necessary nor ethically justifiable, as its production and use is associated with considerable animal welfare problems. A complete ban on PMSG in Switzerland is therefore consistent and necessary.
Sources:
(1) https://www.tierschutzbund-zuerich.ch/en/what-we-do/blood-farms
(2) https://www.sbv-usp.ch/de/problematisches-medikament-aus-schweizer-tierhaltung-verbannt
Documentaries:
Iceland's blood farms - Is the public being deceived about the blood business? (2025)
The use of PMSG causes suffering for sows and piglets. The hormone is usually used in healthy sows. The tightly synchronised births place an enormous strain on the sows. Even weak and exhausted animals are forced into heat by using the hormone. As a result of breeding selection and hormonal manipulation, more piglets are often born than the mother can feed. Excess piglets starve to death or are killed.
A legal ban on the hormone of misery is long overdue. The production and use of PMSG only serves economic interests and pursues the goal of producing masses of cheap pork. The industry's voluntary ban is to be welcomed. It applies to all livestock farms that participate in the ‘QM Swiss Meat’ programme - which includes the vast majority of farms. In order to create legal certainty and a level playing field for all farmers, a legal ban must now follow. Switzerland sees itself as a pioneer in the field of animal welfare. A ban on PMSG would fulfil this claim and send a clear signal to the outside world. The use of PMSG is neither necessary nor ethically justifiable, as its production and use is associated with considerable animal welfare problems. A complete ban on PMSG in Switzerland is therefore consistent and necessary.
Sources:
(1) https://www.tierschutzbund-zuerich.ch/en/what-we-do/blood-farms
(2) https://www.sbv-usp.ch/de/problematisches-medikament-aus-schweizer-tierhaltung-verbannt
Documentaries:
Iceland's blood farms - Is the public being deceived about the blood business? (2025)
PMSG - the hormone of misery | Good reasons for a ban (2024)
PMSG - hormone of double misery | blood farms in South America (2023)
Supporting organisations:
Stiftung für das Tier im Recht
PMSG - hormone of double misery | blood farms in South America (2023)
Supporting organisations:
Stiftung für das Tier im Recht