05/30/17 Rescued chinchillas at their adopters
After the fur farming ban entered into effect this year, rescued chinchillas found new homes
- Stories arriving from families around Croatia, along with moving photos and videos
45 chinchillas, abandoned by former breeders after the ban on fur farming entered into force and then fostered through the Animal Friends and Mrkvica associations, have quickly adjusted to their new circumstances. Some of them, up to 8 years of age, now live in a large-enough space for the first time in their life. Mingling with other chinchillas, and enjoying the toys and treats they get from their fosterers, they're happily becoming adjusted to their new lives.
One of the foster parents, Lovorka Gotal Dmitrovic, shares her story: “Before going to pick up the chinchillas, I studied all the available literature and went to buy all of the equipment which, besides the cage, included the swing-tube (as chinchillas are extremely sociable animals who love to play), a sand bath (since they love to clean their fur in the sand, and are naturally very clean animals), lots of hay, various types of food, and apple tree branches. You cannot possibly imagine my shock when I saw the conditions in which these poor chinchillas lived in. ‘My’ cage was as big as approximately 18 of their former cages. They had literally been living in a metal box for shoes.”
Beautiful news keeps coming even after chinchillas spent a month in their new home: “They are all together in a new space now where they like to spend their time cuddling with each other. As they are very fond of society, they also started to explore the world outside the cage. In these few months they became very cuddly and tame. Maza is very calm and enjoys the bed the most. Capica is a very curious chinchilla who likes to explore everything, and because of her natural curiosity, she makes new friends quicker. And so, Capica and the cats like to sniff and smell each other. These are truly wonderful and sociable beings who make me laugh every day. Looking into their eyes when we ‘speak’ makes me remember the saying: ‘Perhaps by rescuing one being you cannot change the world, but you can change the world of that being.’”
“We are now one big, happy family, and for the rest of our lives we will forever be thankful to Animal Friends Croatia for their fight.”
The other rescued chinchillas found similarly wonderful circumstances. And as a “cherry on top” of this beautiful story about their rescue mission, Animal Friends arranged a video. The footage shows heartwarming scenes of adoption and voices of these tender and intelligent animals. Caution, the video is full of intensely cute scenes!
Following the will of majority of citizens in Croatia, animals will no longer suffer from fur farming. The horrible practice, which can include abuse, breaking necks, and the strangling of innocent animals, also alarmed the citizens of the neighboring states, so the fur farming ban was likewise enacted in Slovenia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Animal Friends calls for adoption instead of purchasing animals and reminds all that the Mrkvica association, which helped with the adoption of the chinchillas, takes care of the many abandoned rabbits who are waiting for their new homes.
Photos of happily adopted chinchillas
Impressions of chinchilla adopters
