We thank everyone who was with us in 2006, helping us in our work and supporting us with their donations and other kinds of support, with hope that in the next year too we will together spread the message of compassion to every living creature.

In this issue:
- Massacre in Klovicevi dvori
- Anti-fur Performance in Maribor
- Replace All Animal Experiments Petition
- Animal Protection Act is Released
- News and Announcements

Massacre in Klovicevi dvori

After receiving anonymous information that a performance would be held by Vlasta Delimar possibly involving a animal slaughter on November 7 in the Gallery Klovicevi dvori in Zagreb, Animal Friends Croatia (AFC) activists reacted in order to prevent the slaughter. Unfortunately, the brutal act of cutting a rooster's blood vessels occurred anyway, and in situ investigators examined at the crime scene as well. AFC filed a report against Vlasta Delimar to the veterinary inspection, while the act itself got huge media attention and condemnation of public. Animal Friends thank the anonymous person who informed us about the possibility of violation of law by the slaughtering of an animal during an artistic performance.

Anti-fur Performance in Maribor

Animal Friends Croatia took part in a performance against fur in front of one fur shop in Maribor, organized by the Slovenian initiative LjudjeZa.org, which started a campaign for the legal ban on fur farming in Slovenia. Spokeswoman Urska Breznik announced a big international anti-fur protest on February 17, 2007 in Ljubljana, as continuation of this campaign.

Replace All Animal Experiments Petition!

Animal Friends Croatia joined the initiative of the Dr Hadwen Trust and invited the Croatian public to sign a European petition for the replacement of all animal experiments! Animal advocacy groups from Sweden, Norway, Finland, UK, Portugal, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Croatia have united to launch a petition calling on the European Union to increase action to replace animal experiments with non-animal techniques. The petition has been launched in response to the upcoming revision of Directive 86/609/EEC, Europe's 20 year old legislation governing animal experiments. The petition can be signed at www.endeuanimaltests.org and the AFC info stall.

Animal Protection Act is Released

After seven and a half years, Croatia has got a new Animal Protection Law! Having been passed on the second parliamentary reading on December 1, 2006, the Animal Protection Act will become effective on January 1, 2007. Although the new Act is a big step forward in comparison to the old Animal Welfare Law, many aspects of animal protection are still not being solved with it. Namely, during its voting amendments on complete ban on dog races and the ban on permanent dogs chaining were not passed, while, strange but true, from the ban on animal fights the amendment on excluding 'traditional' bull fights has passed.

Some of the positive changes in the new Act are: ban on selling dogs and cats in pet shops, ban on using wild animals in circuses and other shows, ban on force-feeding of animals, ban on ritual slaughter and slaughter without stunning, bans on ear cropping and tail docking of dogs, cat claw clipping and removing of vocal cords, introduction of the Ethical Committee and Animal Protection Committee, ban on animal experiments for research or developments of substances, combinations of substances and final cosmetics products and chemical substances for cleaning and disinfection of consumer goods, ban on animal experiments for testing of firearms and other accessories and war equipment, ban on animal experiments in elementary and high schools, the obligation of building animal shelters for every county (possibility of euthanizing animals is after 60 days), and ban on breeding animals for fur with a too long transition period of 10 years.

On this occasion AFC thanks everyone who supported animal protection through this new legislation and AFC proposals and all MPs who supported the new bans, especially Mr. Andrija Hebrang, Mr. Tonino Picula, Mr. Ivo Banac, and Mrs. Jagoda Martincevic.

News and Announcements

- Having served her determinate life sentence, elephant cow Suma has died in the Zagreb Zoo. On this occasion AFC sent a public reaction stating that AFC is decisively against the acquisition of new animals for the Zagreb Zoo. In this way AFC suggests the relocation of the Zoo to out of the city centre thus transforming it into a Zoo park that would be protected from noise and pollution, which would offer the animals at least a hint of freedom that has been taken from them forever, while making its visiting be more enjoyable, since it would remind the citizens of a trip to nature rather than a tour around some prison.

- Not being pleased with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management’s inertia and the lack of interest of the inspections in charge regarding the case of horse-abuse in Bregana, AFC turned for help to the Delegation of the European Commission in the Republic of Croatia about a direct violation of the Directive 98/58/EC and the Directive 93/119/EC. Using this occasion, AFC also asked the Delegation to pay attention to the new Animal Welfare Bill, precisely at the regulation regarding the legal obligation of stunning animals before being slaughtered on homesteads. This regulation was an integral part of the original Act proposal, but it was later removed before the Bill was sent for a second reading.

- On the basis of numerous media reports and calls from the citizens, the organizations Animal Friends Croatia, Life, Animal Voice, and Association for Wild Animals Protection reacted on the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management to give permission for the killing of one bear near Grobnik in Croatia. The Ministry gave this permission relying solely on one official letter written by hunters, instead of reexamining the facts, ordering waste clearance and better area control. In this way AFC demanded withdrawal of the permission by the Ministry.

- AFC appealed on its fellow citizens not to give animals as presents during the coming holidays. In case that the whole family decides to accept a new family member into their home, this should rather be an adopted than bought animal, since many abandoned dogs are waiting to be adopted in the Zagreb Shelter for Abandoned Animals in Dumovec.

- Animal Friends were present with their info stalls and leafleting on the concerts of the band of vegetarians Grande Mothers (Nov 9, Zagreb, Croatia), vegan Bryan Adams (Nov 27, Osijek, Croatia) and P!nk (Dec 15, Zagreb, Croatia).

- On December 9, five AFC members took part on an anti-fur protest in Graz, Austria, organized by the leading Austrian animal rights group Verein Gegen Tierfabriken. The protest lasted two hours and activists marched by all fur shops in the city center.

- Animal Friends would also like to use this opportunity to thank Croatian celebrities for publicly acting and speaking up for animals. In this newsletter our thanks go to singers Boris Novkovic, Vanna, Tereza Kesovija, Massimo Savic and Maja Vucic, and a talk-show hostess Marija Strajh.

- On the annual contest 'Vidi web top 100' for the best Croatian website, our website www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr was for the second time appointed among the 10 best in the rubric 'Science, Education and Culture', which makes us very proud regarding the fact that this website was set up through the persistent volunteer work.

- Animal Friends Croatia present the first results of the official independent survey on the public opinion done by a communication group SPEM Zagreb d.o.o., which showed that 73,7% of the interviewees agree or even fully agree that it should be prohibited to breed animals for their fur should in Croatia.

- In regard to the incident in the bear sanctuary in Kuterevo where the bear Brundo was killed, Animal Friends Croatia send a demand to the police station Licko-Senjskoj for a profound investigation which might confirm who and under which circumstances killed the bear, regarding the fact that there is reason to believe he was killed after the danger of a possible attack from the bear was over.

- We invite you to check out the numerous news on the AFC web portal; this time we want to present you two new cruelty-free companies – John Masters Organics and Juice Beauty.

- On February 3, 2007, a loud, third in a row, annual anti-fur protest will take place in Zagreb, so we ask you to mark that date too and join us! Given that animal killing for fur is not only a Croatian, but a worldwide problem, we are also inviting you to take part in the loud protest against fur, due to take place on the February 17, 2007 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. To give support to our Slovenian colleagues, Animal Friends Croatia will organize a bus leaving from Zagreb on February 17, 2007 at 8 A.M.

With best wishes to you and lots of compassion towards every creature we remain

Your Animal Friends Croatia