'Looking at my pets, who also are my best friends, I cannot grasp how one can support violence to animals. The only difference between them and animals killed for their fur is how we treat them. All animals feel the same pain and they suffer equally. There is no sense in this torture of animals for fashion, especially since fur is not necessary and is completely replaceable. Imagine that someone skins your pet and makes a fashion decoration out of it. You can be modern without killing. Turn your back on fur and express your humanity!' – Fani Stipkovic, Croatian model

In this issue:
- Holidays Without Violence
- Children Against Abandoning of Animals
- National Campaign 'For Croatia Without Fur'
- News and Announcements

Holidays Without Violence

On December 23, 2006, on the occasion of Christmas' and New Year’s holidays, Animal Friends Croatia organized an action in Zagreb calling people to also share their love and compassion with animals destined to be brutally killed because of their meat. The healthy holiday-menu with which AFC treated people of Zagreb did not contain animal ingredients, consisted of roasting, stuffed cabbage leaves, jelly, fried soy steak, French salad with egg-free mayonnaise, walnut loaf and poppy-seed cake without eggs but instead plant milk. This tasting had the aim to show the people that their holiday table can be rich in food, but also rich in compassion of the people that prepare it.

Children Against Abandoning Animals

In cooperation with the Municipal Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Municipal Department of Health, Work, and Social Welfare, the Municipal Department of Education, Culture, and Sports, and with the Social Pedagogy Service 'Vladimir Nazor', AFC on December 30, 2006 organized an educational visit of primary-school children to the Shelter for Abandoned Animals of the City of Zagreb in Dumovec. The aim of this visit of children from the City of Youth and the school group Animal Friends, active at the Primary School 'King Tomislav', was to educate children on the problem of abandoning animals and their accommodation in animal shelters, as well as to motivate citizens to adopt animals from these shelters.

National Campaign 'For Croatia Without Fur'

With billboards 'Beautiful Without Fur' showing the attractive Croatian model Fani Stipkovic in Zagreb and Split, AFC launched a national campaign 'For Croatia Without Fur'! Under the supervising eye of the Cro-a-Porter art director Viktor Drago and in front of the lens of Dusko Vlaovic, Fani Stipkovic has completely undressed herself and thus removed the limits of up-to-date fight for animal rights in Croatia. She also set up a challenge to Croatian celebrities which are still in favor of the stone-age fashion. Promotion and presentation of the billboard 'Beautiful Without Fur' took place on January 16, 2007 in The Regent Esplanade Zagreb Hotel. At the press conference Fani pointed out that beauty is made from the compassion for every living creature as well, thus showing that she is not only beautiful without fur but actually beautiful and with heart.

The campaign 'For Croatia Without Fur' will continue with a big anti-fur demo in Zagreb, February 3, at 11 A.M. in front of the Croatian National Theater (HNK), a demo against killing of animals for fur in front of the Chinese Embassy on February 13, at 12 noon, a demo against Canadian slaughter of seals on March 15 in front of the Canadian Embassy, at 11 A.M., performances, actions and further public appearances of Croatian celebrities. This campaign is supported by M-Ros, Arto, Media, Cro-a-Porter, Studio 2M, Adorea, and The Regent Esplanade Zagreb Hotel, as well as the band Hakuna Matata which before the promotion of its CD 'Antigravitation' on January 16 in Zagreb, allowed the impressive performance 'Animals Cannot Live Without Fur, You Can' of AFC activists.

You can also support a successful protest with your donation which would cover the expenses on production of leaflets, banners and other. More information at http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=602.

News and Announcements

- Another reminder: join us at big international anti-fur demos in Zagreb, Croatia (February 3) and Ljubljana, Slovenia (February 17). We need your help in organizing these protests, your donations, but also in the organized group tour to the first international protest in Slovenia!

- AFC sent an appeal to Croatian citizens to keep animals safe from New Year's Eve celebration firing. Unfortunately, at the end of 2006 people also expressed their happiness by setting noisy fire-crackers and other explosive devices, not thinking about animals that experienced terrible fear and trauma.

- AFC invite their fellow townsmen to donate blankets and sheets to the Shelter for Abandoned Animals of the City of Zagreb in Dumovec. Also, blankets and sheets are needed for animals in other Croatian shelters as well, so once again we appeal for your help.

- We invite all interested vegetarians and those who are thinking to go vegetarian to e-mail Jenny Gage from the Potok Vegetarian Center on the beautiful island of Brac (www.vegpot.com). Jenny needs a helping hand in running a Center from mid April to mid May.

- AquaSource is the new cruelty-free company on the AFC White List. You can find the complete list of cruelty-free companies in Croatia here http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=335.

- Read the last issue of Testing Times newsletter of the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments, which is also being translated into Croatian by AFC volunteers and e-mailed to Croatian scientists and interested individuals.

- On this occasion too, AFC thanks everyone for their donations and membership fees, and once more asks everyone, who is willing, to support our long-term ‘For Croatia Without Fur’ campaign with a kind donation. Thank you!

We hope to see you soon at the protests in Zagreb and later Ljubljana and wish you a lot of understanding, tolerance, love and compassion to each other and to all animals.

Your Animal Friends Croatia