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‘This has
to be the most successful and heart warming campaign in the history
of the antivivisection movement. The decency and determination of
the Croatian people mobilized by your group, triumphed. No
mincing of words about those psychopaths either. I wish you
well with your legal pursuits also. Plain goodness backed by great
determination triumphed. Many people worldwide will be inspired.’
- Liela Harvey. Dr. Med. MbChB Edinburgh.
In this issue:
- P&G bloody products also in Maribor
- Summer
campaign Don’t leave me
- Record-breaking the Human Race in Pamplona
- Happy ending of the Battle for the Beagles
- Flash news
P&G bloody products also in Maribor
On 28 June from
noon to 1 p.m. on the crossroad of Gosposka and Jurciceva Street
in Maribor, about ten local activists supported by the activists
of Animal Friends Croatia held a demo against scandalous exploiting
of laboratory animals. Wearing red overalls and banners and showing
a video footage of animals in laboratories, they sparked the curiosity
of the passers-by and many TV and radio crews and other journalists.
The most interesting moment of this action happened when a group
of some ten Italian tourists stopped in front of the activists and,
realizing what this demo was about, gave a loud applause of their
approval.
This was the
continuation of the campaign that Animal Friends Croatia launched
at the beginning of this year against Procter & Gamble, but
also other companies that test their cosmetic products and cleansers
on animals. After a very successful demo in Maribor, the similar
action is scheduled for September in Ljubljana.
Summer campaign Don’t leave me
The fourth time
in a row, AFC started their summer campaign Family on a seaside, the dog on the
street?!, which this year carries the motto Don’t leave me, thanks to the expert
support of the Cro-A-Porter team.
This year, too,
the campaign was organized in cooperation with the City Department
for Agriculture and Forestry, with the aim to prevent the flood
of abandoned companion animals before summer holidays and to bring
into spotlight the strays in the City Shelter for Abandoned Animals
in Dumovec, thus animating finding homes for them.
In this regard, several press conferences were being held during which the appeal for finding homes for the animals in Dumovec was sent to the public. Also, on 2 and 3 July the animal shelter held an open door day, whilst on 9 July on the main square in Zagreb an action of finding new homes for the dogs in guardianship of Noah’s Arc society was organized.
According to
the newest information, since the beginning of this campaign about
40 dogs found their new homes! Surely, the appearances in the various
media of the Croatian celebrities Maja Vucic and Nikolina Pisek
helped with that as well, for the two of them are from some ten
billboards still inviting their fellow townsmen not to abandon their
companion animals and to be more compassionate towards the animals
they have.
Record-breaking the Human Race in Pamplona
While
some of our activists diligently worked in Zagreb on the campaign
Don’t leave me, about ten of our
activists set on the Human Race 2005 in Pamplona together with 40
other activists from Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, Hungary
and Bulgaria.This was one
more pressure on the Spanish authorities to ban this crack-brained
and bloody tradition of bullfights and bull-runs. The growing number
of Spanish cities, which turn their backs to this kind of entertainment every year,
are the best indicator that the Human Race makes sense and that
such actions are needed.
Those who still
didn’t have a chance to see the pictures from Spain in the newspapers
or on the TV news can visit our web site www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr
or PETA’s web site www.runningofthenudes.com.
La tortura,
no es arte ni cultura!
Only
a week went by from the media explosion of ‘the beagles affair’ on
the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb until the ultimate liberation
of the beagles and placing them in their homes! It is hard to say
something new about this blitzkrieg operation at this point, for it
was the talk of all Croatia, but the rest of the world kept a vigilant
eye on it, too. No wonder then that Italian TV crew RAI Due came from
Rome to make a special report and witness live the moment of giving
32 (un)fortunate dogs, which, by some strange channels, arrived from
the Italian breeding facility for laboratory dogs in Green Hill to
the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb, to their new homes.
Many web sites, portals and news groups from the United Kingdom, Belgium
to those in the United States too reported about the rescuing of the
beagles from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb, whilst
the letters of support (and condemnation to the responsible for this
crime) arrived from all over the world. Thus, more than 2,000 e-mails
arrived to our organization!
All
32 dogs are happily re-homed and they are successfully recovering.
They are still in fear from the ‘white coats’, they are not accustomed
to the green grass they didn’t see until their liberation, they learn
how to live in the real families. They also learn how to walk on the
stairs, they are discovering music and for the first time they are
finding out what is true love. The photos of the dogs and their families
who shower them with care and attention, and who, with the broken
legs, plucked out eye, without testicles, anus, tail, with high temperature,
tails covered with blood and under stress left for good that hell
hole, can be seen on our web site www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr.
Animal Friends
Croatia once more wants to thank the Animal Protection Societies
of Zagreb Alliance and other societies, all media, public persons
and everyone who was one way or another somehow involved in this
rescue operation, especially the families who embraced the rescued
dogs. We hope that this is the beginning of big changes in Croatia,
which will also include the forthcoming change of Animal Welfare
Law of Croatia.
The first part
of the Battle for the Beagles
happily ended; what follows is the pressing of legal charges against
the criminals Antun Brkic and Slobodan Vukicevic and the continuation
of untying of ‘the beagles affair’.
- Dogs and cats
on the streets of Belgrade are the victims of brutal massacre for
more than ten years already! About 100,000 victims and the number
is getting higher each day. Every week more than 150 innocent lives
are ended in the most heinous ways.
Abandoned Dogs
and Cats of Belgrade and European Initiative 17, supported by the
Internet animal activists have launched the action for stopping this
cruel killing. If you want to help them, too, please visit www.europeaninitiative17.bravehost.com,
or send a protest letter from http://europeaninitiative17.bravehost.com/help.html.
- During the
summer months many abandoned animals wander the streets of our towns.
Apart from the cars, death from dehydration due to high temperatures
is looming over them. The birds and other animals can barely find
some water on the red-hot sidewalks. Hence, we remind all of you
not to forget to leave some fresh water on your balconies and in
front of your doors to help the animals that live in our neighborhood
to more easily endure the heat.
-
In PETA’s annual online poll Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was voted
the ‘World’s Sexiest Vegetarian’. Martin and his wife Gwyneth Paltrow
recently celebrated the first birthday of their daughter Apple with
the vegan cake. A title of the 'World’s Sexiest Vegetarians' won in
previous years Alicia Silverstone, Andre 3000 of OutKast, Tobey Maguire,
Lauren Bush and Shania Twain.- If you want
to join Animal Friends Croatia and give your support against the
bird hunt on Malta, please visit www.protectiondesoiseaux.be/content/view/879
Since the amount
of work is increasing day in day out, it cannot be done solely on
the volunteer basis any more. There is a realistic need for the
professionalism, so all of us could be more efficient in our work
for the animals. Our achievements so far in making the public more
aware of the all aspects of animal issues as well as the need of
changing the Animal Welfare Law of Croatia came as result of dedicated
24/7 engagement of few activists. Because of spending so much time
working for AFC and personal financial self-denials, they are at
subsistence level and thus forced to work full-time jobs so as to
survive. Spare time after working in some company simply isn’t enough
for normal functioning of our organization. Therefore, our goal
is to find monthly
donations, which will provide the stable funding we need to make
sure that we can continue our vital work for the animals 24/7. Interested
individuals, organizations and companies who are able and would
like to help us with such kind of funding can contact us at our
e-mail address prijatelji-zivotinja@inet.hr.
In conclusion,
we want to share with you an excerpt from the e-mail we have received
from Fondation Brigitte Bardot: 'The whole team of Fondation
Brigitte Bardot wants to express its sincere thanks and congratulations
for the great job you achieved on the Beagles issue.'
Together with
you for the animals,
