05/06/24 Appalling: Veterinary inspection allows abuse of horses near Zagreb!

Activists from the Animal Friends Croatia witnessed the suffering of horses at yesterday's horse log pulling competition near Velika Gorica

Urgent legal ban on horse beating for empty entertainment; Animal Friends Croatia also started a petition

Hitting horses with a whip, scars on the skin, causing pain to horses by pulling their reins, are just some of the distressing scenes witnessed by activists from the Animal Friends Croatia at yesterday's horse log pulling competition in Strmec Bukevski near Velika Gorica. "We are shocked that gross violations of the law and blatant horse abuse took place in front of the veterinary inspection, which ignored our request to ban this event. This is not a log-pulling competition, but rather horse abuse!" sharply stated Snježana Klopotan Kačavenda, project coordinator at the Animal Friends Croatia.

She says it's unacceptable that the veterinary inspection turned a blind eye even to the basic fact, visible to laypersons, that men were directly pulling reins causing additional stress, fear, and pain to the horses. A bridle is attached to the rings of the reins, a strap whose sudden pulling creates pressure on the horse's tongue and gums, causing sharp pain. Some horses also had a chin chain, which, when tightened, further increases leverage on the horse's tongue and under the jaw. With strong pulling of the reins or reins, which is common in horse log pulling competition, there can even be microfractures of the bone, i.e., the horse's jaw.

"Young children carried whips as toys sold as souvenirs, while older children were hitting horses with whips. Many horses have scars and wounds on their skin from the beatings, and it was evident that they were afraid of their owners, some of whom were hitting them with whips before the competition. One horse broke free out of fear and started running around. Horses stumbled from exhaustion and stopped several times, only for the owners to yell at them after a short break, clap behind them, and pull on the reins to make them continue pulling. There was no fun in this, only fear on the part of the horses and aggression and domination on the part of humans. Can't the inspection see that this is violence, not enjoyment for the horses?" the activists expressed their outrage.

Animal Friends emphasizes that horse pulling competitions with heavy logs are illegal because they violate numerous provisions in the field of veterinary medicine and animal protection, promoting animal abuse. They remind that hitting and beating horses is part of the regular "training" for log-pulling competitions, called horse log pulling competitions or slajs. Owners "condition" horses by hitting them with wooden sticks in stables day after day, year after year, all aiming to get obedient horses that will pull heavy logs at "competitions."

"We have an absurd situation where the Animal Protection Act prohibits the use of horses for pulling logs from forests, but at the same time, it has not explicitly banned these same horses from pulling heavy logs in meaningless competitions. We know that horses won't pull overloaded carts; they will simply stop. It is entirely clear that they will not voluntarily pull two-ton logs. After receiving beatings day after day, hidden from public view in stables, at so-called competitions, they respond obediently to a raised hand, whip swing, or shout, struggling to pull the log. This is terribly abusing horses, which cannot be justified in any way, especially not as empty entertainment. Just this fact alone should be enough for the veterinary inspection not to issue approval for any horse log pulling competition!" explains Snježana Klopotan Kačavenda.

In September last year, Animal Friends reported the perpetrators of horse beatings in a stable near Karlovac. The veterinary inspection responded that the horse Jadran, whose beating was witnessed by the whole of Croatia in a video circulating on social media, was temporarily confiscated. Two misdemeanor proceedings were initiated at the Misdemeanor Court in Karlovac. The men who beat the horse spent two months in pre-trial detention, and a criminal complaint was filed against them for animal cruelty. The organization also sent a letter to the State Inspectorate highlighting that horse beatings are not isolated incidents but a daily part of training for log-pulling competitions. They urged the State Inspectorate to inform all veterinary inspectors not to approve cruel competitions.

However, the State Inspectorate continues to ignore everything, approving events that constitute a criminal act of animal cruelty and a violation of the Animal Protection Act, which stipulates that animals are forbidden from being used in competitions "if they are forced to behave in a way that causes pain, suffering, injury, or death." All of this happens solely for profit, which includes illegal betting in amounts of tens of thousands of euros. This falls under the purview of the State Inspectorate, which should prevent and penalize illegal profit-making, especially at the obvious expense of unfortunate animals.

A petition has been launched to explicitly ban this cruel and shameful practice in the Animal Protection Act.

Related Topics

• Horse Logging Competitions

Actions

• 10/03/23 Petition for Horse Log Pulling Ban
• 09/28/23 State Inspectorate Supports Animal Abuse
• 09/20/23 The reasons why they beat the horse
• 09/15/23 Animal Welfare not Important to the Veterinary Chamber
• 09/13/23 Seize All Animals in Abuser's Possession

Reactions, Demands and Reports

• 06/04/13 Horses are Competing in Dragging Logs

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