06/03/24 First They Mistreat Animals and Incite Them to Aggression, Then They are Surprised When Animals Attack

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Animal Friends Croatia believes yesterday’s bulls’ behaviour at the bullfight in Radošić was to be expected

Croatia has become a global ridicule thanks to bullfighting; law and the Croatian State Inspectorate should ban this, they have the power to do it

At a time when Columbia bans bullfighting to protect animals while undergoing a cultural transformation, Croatia proves yet again that its culture of animal treatment is centuries old. Evidence is offered by yesterday’s bullfight in the village of Radošić where one bull injured a person and another broke through the safety barrier and escaped. “We strongly condemn all forms of bullfighting and using animals for fighting in general! Bulls’ behaviour at the Radošić event is a normal and expected reaction to mistreatment to which these animals are subjected,” stated Snježana Klopotan Kačavenda, Project Co-Ordinator at Animal Friends Croatia.

She explained that bullfight organisers are in breach of the Animal Protection Act which bans any pitting animals against each other, training them for aggression or any other form of abuse such as fearmongering, injury, betting, and participating in betting activities: “The so-called bullfights in Dalmatia and Dalmatian Zagora use animals’ natural instincts to pit them to attack and gore each other. Bulls are typically surrounded by large screaming crowds, which fills them with panic and fear, on top of the additional stress of being attacked by an equally strong animal. Very often, as bulls do not want to fight, owners probe them with sticks to enrage them and encourage to attack other animals, sometimes going as far as rubbing salt on their mouths. Why are we surprised then when a bull, which is forcefully encouraged to behave aggressively, attacks humans too?”

Since 2006, Animal Friends Croatia have been advocating a bullfighting ban. At the time, the first Animal Protection Act was adopted banning all animal fights “excluding traditional bull competitions,” with this exclusion introduced only in the amendment to the Act shortly before its adoption to please the backward organizers of such bullfights. However, Klopotan Kačavenda stated that animals attacking one another cannot be referred to as a competition but animal abuse: “Tradition is a cultural heritage carried from one generation to another, implying continuity from the past. However, in this case, bullfights are not a matter of tradition as they were first organised more regularly only in the 1990s. Even if they had been organised for hundreds and thousands of years, it is time we finally start living in the 21st century! Animal torture and primitive forms of entertainment make Croatia the laughingstock of the world!”

She added it was inexcusable for State Inspectorate inspections behave as if bullfighting did not exist, even when they involve a breach of a range of veterinary, safety, and hygiene regulations. Even organisers are often involved in financial fraud because bullfights bring profits, which is another matter to be investigated by a financial inspection. Animals should not be used for stress relief or making profit under the pretext of continuing tradition by a certain interest group of a certain rural community.

Animal Friends Croatia therefore emphasises that the traditional heritage and cultural values of Dalmatia and Dalmatian Zagora can be promoted in a more adequate way by, for example, organising bull fairs. This would be a closer match for the “bull competition” term as animals’ physical appearance and posture would be evaluated. Social gatherings and entertainment would continue as before, breeding of indigenous breeds would be encouraged, winners would take away prizes, and all this without violence or any danger for animals or humans.

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