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Gorilla glue company is one of the most popular glue brands globally. You may be thinking – is gorilla glue made from horses, and is it ethical to use gorilla glue? Do they use animal products or harm animals to make gorilla glue?
We’ll discuss whether animals are harmed to make gorilla glue, how horses were once killed to make it, and how modern glue companies have changed their production system from animal glue to synthetic adhesives.
Related: Can super glue hold a lot of weight?
Is gorilla glue made from animals?
Gorilla glue is not made from killing gorillas or any other animals. Gorilla glue is essentially polyurethane adhesive made from different chemicals like polymers. No animals are hurt or killed to make gorilla glue.
All variants of gorilla glue are free from any animal or hoof glue. Gorilla super glue, gorilla hot glue, and gorilla wood glue, which is a PVA glue, have no animal product traces.
Related: Is gorilla glue flammable when dry?
Is gorilla glue really made from horses?
Modern glue companies don’t use horses to make glue since a federal law was passed in 2007 against the killing of horses. Gorilla Glue company was launched in 1904, and the original gorilla glue was made public in 1999.
Although there are chances that horses may have been used before 2007 by gorilla glue, there is no evidence of that. Whether gorilla glue company used horses before 2007 is something we’ll probably never know.
But one thing is for sure – horses are no longer used to make glue in the U.S.A. So, you can rest assured that gorilla glue isn’t made from horses.
Related: Gorilla glue drying times for metals revealed!
What glues are made from horses?
No modern glue factory uses animal parts to make glue anymore. Once, there was a time when horses and other parts were used to make glue. These types of glue are animal glue, hide glue or hoof glue.
Historically, animal glue was created by boiling the connective tissue of animals. The collagen from different body parts like skins, bones, tendons, horse hoofs, and other tissues was boiled to make glue. Animals like horses, cattle, pigs, and fish were put down to create animal glue.
Animal glue used to be made mainly from horses since more glue could be produced from horses. Since the 2007 federal law was passed, this had to change. The law banning horse slaughterhouses is active to date. Wild horses are no longer slaughtered to make horse glue.
Hide glue is another type of animal glue made from animal skin. Animal skin or hides were stored in water to produce the stock. The hides were extracted from the stock and boiled to form hide glue. Hoof glue used to be made from the hoof wall of horses.
Synthetic adhesives are way cheaper and form a much stronger bond. That’s why all companies have shifted to PVA, polyurethane, or cyanoacrylate glue. These types of glue stick better than animal glue.
Related: Can gorilla glue fix the air mattress?
Are horses killed to make glue?
Horses “were” killed to make animal glue earlier. But that is no longer the case. All modern companies use synthetic materials to create their glue now.
Animal glue was never really the strongest glue anyway. Synthetic material wasn’t popular back then. That’s why people used horse glue.
Elmer’s glue is the perfect example of that. Elmer’s glue was made from animal products like the gelatin of horses initially, but they switched to synthetic materials after horse slaughter was prohibited.
Although the ingredient mix is a trade secret, they have claimed that they do not use animal collagen to create glue anymore.
Even if horses die today, they’re not used to make glue. They’re exported to other countries. That’s because horse meat has always been frowned upon in America. But many countries in Europe enjoy horse meat.
Final words
Modern glue companies can’t make glue from horses since the law prohibiting horse slaughter was passed. You don’t have to worry about any glue factory harming animals if you’re a vegan.
Modern glue is synthetic glue free from any animal parts. Use glue without guilt. We hope this guide has given you a better understanding of the history of glue.
