'Man has no compassion for humans, has no compassion for animals, has lost contact with the natural environment. He creates his own virtual world, where he does not live his own life, but the life of a consumer robot, thus drifting away ever further from his true self. Slowly and gradually he will stop being a feeling person that is connected with other beings and nature. And in the end, there will be no more real world. Somewhere along the line it will simply disappear.' - Dr. Janez Drnovsek, President of Slovenia

In this issue:
- Socialize to Find a Home
- Abandoned Animal - Penalty up to 15,000 Kuna
- End Inhumane Primate Testing in EU Labs
- World Whale and Dolphin Day
- From Croatia to the 'Running of the Nudes' in Pamplona
- News and Announcements

Socialize to Find a Home

Animal Friends Croatia and the Shelter for Abandoned Animals of the City of Zagreb launched a project for socialization of five adult dogs which will last three months in order to make it easier to find homes for them in the future. The project's aim is to enable a quality adoption disregarding the age, gender, outwards appearance or behavior of a dog. Photos of the dogs with their brief descreption can be seen at www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=800.

Abandoned Animal - Penalty up to 15,000 Kuna

This summer Animal Friends Croatia again continue with the campaign 'Family to the Seaside, Dog in the Street' in cooperation with City Department for Agriculture and Forestry. This year the campaign highlights the legal penalties for abandoning of animals in accordance with the new Animal Protection Act, which range from 5,000 up to 15,000 Kuna.

Andjela Ramljak, actress from Croatian TV series 'Zabranjena ljubav' (Forbidden Love), also joined this campaign. Dressed in a police uniform, she appears on a billboard and a postcard with a mongrel dog Curo. Art director of this campaign is Viktor Drago and photographer is Dusko Vlaovic. Apart from City Department for Agriculture and Forestry, this campaign is also supported by Arto, Cro-a-Porter, Europlakat, Vector Design, and Zale.

End Inhumane Primate Testing in EU Labs

Animal Friends Croatia participated in MEPs bid to end inhumane primate testing in the European Union. In an event that took place on June 27 on the steps of the European Parliament in Bruxelles, MEPs staged a symbolic 'release' of 'primates' from their cages. Among the 'released' 'primates' was also Miss Jasenka Tudor, Animal Friends Croatia's coordinator. The event marks the launch of the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments' (ECEAE) campaign to secure a ban on the use of these sensitive and intelligent creatures in EU labs in a forthcoming review of the lab animal directive 86/609.

World Whale and Dolphin Day

On the occasion of the World and Dolphin Day, June 30, Animal Friends Croatia sent a protest note to His Excellency Tetsuhisa Shirakawa, the ambassador of Japan in Croatia, calling for the prohibition on slaughtering of dolphins, which is currently done by Japanese fisheries, as well as trading with live dolphins for the captivity industry, both in Japan and abroad. Beside this protest note, Animal Friends have sent a letter to the Nature Protection Directorate at the Croatian Ministry of Culture, demanding an urgent ban on all forms of capturing and exploitation of dolphins and other sea mammals from the Cetacean family on the territory of Croatia.

On an info stall in Zagreb, the petition for a ban on dolphin slaughter was signed, while members of AFC distributed leaflets about this event and showed video footage, offering additional information about the whale and dolphin protection.

From Croatia to the 'Running of the Nudes' in Pamplona

While you are reading this issue of AnimaList, activists from Zagreb, Varazdin, Vukovar, Pozega, Velika Gorica, and Mali Losinj, together with many activists from all over the world, are getting ready for the 'Running of the Nudes' in Pamplona which will take place on July 5. This year too, with lots of press attention, in this peculiar way the point wants to be made that bull runs and bull fights are cruel and that cruelty to animals can be replaced by more interesting and ethical fun. The coach from Zagreb left on July 2 and it is returning from Spain in the evening hours of July 8.

News and Announcements

- After PETA successfully concluded discussions with food-industry giant PepsiCo that resulted in the company's announcement that it will no longer conduct or fund experiments on animals, PepsiCo's rival Coca-Cola has agreed to stop animal tests, too. Coca-Cola's commitment not to fund tests on animals - and its instruction to its suppliers to use alternatives to animal testing - is a sign of hope for the millions of animals who are forced to endure cruel and unnecessary experiments every year.

- June 4, Animal Friends Croatia reported the abuse of cows at Bio Farma in Cestica Krizovljanska, owned by Ivan Hudoletnjak, after several members of AFC visited the farm and ascertained themselves of the disastrous health condition of the animals and the terrible conditions they are kept in. The report and the photographs of abused cows can be seen at www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=792.

- Animal Friends participated in a lecture 'Vegetarians or Aliens' at the Faculty of Science in Zagreb and also held a lecture titled 'Ethics in our Plates' in Matica hrvatska.

- June 9, Animal Friends Croatia participated on Vegan Mania in Vienna with its whole-day info stall, and uses this opportunity to thank organizer for the invitation to be a part of this event.

- June 15, the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research and Hrvatska sveucilisna naklada promoted a new book 'Kulturni Bestijarij', which represents a comprehensive, detailed and interesting work of cultural animalism in which the review of Croatian and other Slavic ethnological, mythical and literary tradition is presented, together with the most up-to-date approach to the phenomenon of animal.

- On Euro Dog Show, which this year took place in Zagreb, at least six casualties happened. Some of the exhibitors claim in anonymous emails that the number of dead dogs is higher than ten and that 'the way to glory of the winner is paved with carcasses of other dogs which died in agony'. AFC publicly condemned the lack of care of individuals, but also shows in general, that ruthless industry of breeding, trade and exploitation of animals for human entertainment and profit.

- June 18, As part of the campaign 'For Croatia Without Fur', Animal Friends Croatia joined an international campaign against selling of fur in GUESS shops, sending an appeal to GUESS shops in Zagreb and Rijeka, as well as GUESS Italia European HQ in Florence and GUESS, Inc. HQ in Los Angeles, USA, demanding from them to stop the sale of fur apparel and fur trim.

- June 30, Animal Friends Croatia sent a demand to the Namibian authorities to urgently announce a moratorium on seal culling policy. More about this cull at www.sealalert.org.

- From July 8-14 the world known author and vegan Jeffrey Masson will visit Croatia! Jeffrey Masson will sign his book 'When Elephants Weep' in Algoritam bookshops in Zagreb (Gajeva 2, on July 9 at 5 P.M.) and Dubrovnik (Stradun, on July 12 at 7:30 P.M.). He will also hold a lecture about psychology of farm animals on June 9 at 6:30 P.M. in KIC (Cultural Informative Center), Preradoviceva 5, Zagreb.

- Croatian cruelty-free list is regularly updated, and the new company on the Croatian 'White List' is Fran Wilson Cosmetics / Beauty Solutions Ltd.

- AFC members who paid or will pay their yearly membership fee will get their membership card with which they can realize a discount on certain products or services. Encian, Hotel Kornjak, Vegehop, and Vita are just some from the list of companies which offer such discounts, so we urge you to pay your membership fee for this year in order to get advantage of these opportunities.

- Animal Friends Croatia organization successfully homed chickens, geese and ducks which were confiscated by the Zagreb Municipal Inspection because of illegal and improper keeping in the city area. The birds are now in a good home of vegetarians who will take care of them until the end of their natural life.

- This year too, AFC organized a picnic for its activists, at which AFC members interested for volunteering associated with one other by a vegetarian barbecue in a relaxed atmosphere at the Zagreb lake Jarun.

- After five years working in Gunduliceva ulica, AFC office needs to relocate. We kindly ask anyone in the know about the possible new location for the office space in Zagreb to let us know about it.

- Do not forget that animals also do not cope well during summer heats and because of climate changes. Therefore leave some water for thirsty cats, dogs, birds and other animals who live in your neighborhood. Do not leave your companion animals in a car, for high temperatures can jeopardize their life in a very short time.

Please stay with us in the next period as well and keep your eye on the news at our web page. Maybe you will decide to join us personally in some of our future actions.

Your Animal Friends Croatia