03/29/13 There are Many Cases of Mistreating Animals Due to Incentives
Animal Friends seeks punishment for those responsible
Author: Hina
Published: March 29, 2013
Animal Friends condemned the deaths of over one hundred cows on a farm near Udbina and warned that this is not an isolated case because so far there has been a series of animal abuse and mistreatment cases for which the owners received incentives.
In the Animal Friends association they think that because of the latest case of dying cows, the ones responsible should be reported straight away, and if they are found guilty, they should be fined with up to one year in prison because of animal abuse they committed. Apart from that, they believe that the violators should be reported for breaking the Animal Protection Act which for mistreatment, starvation and murder of animals prescribes a fine of up to 15,000 kuna to an individual person and up to 100,000 kuna to a company.
Luka Oman from Animal Friends stressed that many cases of animal mistreatment are connected with receiving government grants, where the implementation of the said grants is poorly controlled.
He warned that animals on farms are in much more difficult positions than companion animals, and the problem is further aggravated because a case of keeping a dog on a chain reaches the public much more easily than mistreatment of animals on farms.
"We all condemn keeping dogs on chains, but nobody asks about the cows that are tied to a 70 cm long chain, that spend their whole life in the stable and only come out when they are being taken to the slaughter house," said Oman.
According to Animal Friends' data, over 50 percent of cows are kept in such a manner in Croatia.
Animal Friends warns that domestic animals in general are poorly controlled.
"Today there is a huge demand for products of animal origin, so even animals that are looked after by their owners in the best possible way, are still in fact tortured and abused," said Oman.
It is considered that more meat, milk and eggs are sought for from animals whilst investing very little resources. This is, according to him, an economic rule in animal breeding no matter if it is about the large or small farms.
Animal Friends thinks that it is necessary to question all the incentives being handed out and bring in animal control. Animal Friends asks why there are such incentives at all when people just want to earn a quick buck by compromising animals.
Oman believes that the incentive system fools people making them think that the meat is cheap, but they don’t see how many billions are spent on grants and subsidies for producing food of animal origin.
On the farm Lov Farma in Josani near Udbina over one hundred cows died of hunger and mistreatment. The Ministry of Agriculture announced the investigation of this case as well as the sanctioning of the responsible individuals, including the farm, if they are found guilty.
