'The slaughter of seals in Canada, including seals that are just a few weeks old, is barbaric and the EU should not condone it.' - Neil Parish, Chair of a European Parliament animal welfare panel

 

European V-label

We announce that the V-label finally came to Croatia. In Croatia, namely, more than 160,000 vegetarians live, according to the public opinion survey carried out by SPEM Communication Group. Beside them, there are many consumers who want to eat healthier and who are interested in the ingredients of nutritional products they buy every day. Many consumers may not consume certain foods of animal origin because of health difficulties or because their religious believes don't permit it, so the V-label will be a guarantee of a healthy product for them.

 

More than 30,000 Signatures for the Dolphin Reserve

 

On March 6, in the office of Nature Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Culture, our representatives handed over 31,224 collected signatures to Mr. Zoran Sikic, the state secretary. The signing of this petition will continue until the permanent legal ban on dolphin captivity and the dolphin reserve at Mali Losinj are established, which is of great importance for the protection of dolphins and the reputation of Croatia as a 'Dolphin friendly country.'

Protest to Stop the Seal Slaughter

On Saturday, March 15, the big international protest against the seal slaughter for fur happened in Zagreb. More than 300 protesters gathered in a protest march that lasted two hours, and a protest note was handed over to the Canadian ambassador in Zagreb. The photo gallery from the protest can be seen here www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=913.

Meatout 2008

This year we marked the Meatout with the tasting of vegan goulash and promotion of the new leaflet and the web page www.futurefood.org on March 20, the street projection of the video about the battery cages on March 21, and the tasting of vegan cakes on our info stall on March 22. This year also we marked the Meatout in collaboration with F.A.R.M. – Farm Animal Reform Movement.

European Coalition to End Animal Experiments

From March 27-29, our group had the honor to be a host to the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE) representatives in Zagreb on its regular conference. As part of this international gathering, a performance against primate experiments took place on March 28. The goal of this performance was to urge the ban on experiments on primates in the European Union and Croatia.

The Right to have a Meal

Marking the World Health Day, we directed a request to the ministries in charge for the introduction of vegetarian meals in public institutions. The right to have a meal according to ethical, religious, health or some other principles is the fundamental right of every individual. For the reasons of respect towards the fundamental rights of the individual citizen, citizen's freedom of self-determination and the development of healthy food culture, Croatia shouldn't wait any longer with the introduction of vegetarian meals in all public institutions.

 

News and Announcements

- Once more we reacted against the exploitation of animals in the NOVA TV reality show 'The Farm'. Urged by the numerous calls of the TV viewers because of neglecting a dog Lisa, we filed a report to the veterinary inspection against the abuse of animals for entertainment.

- Seven new towns – Sveta Nedelja, Ivanic Grad, Sveti Ivan Zelina, Dugo Selo, Vrbovec, Velika Gorica, and Porec – joined our campaign for the obligatory microchipping of all dogs. The number of towns that support this campaign is now twenty.

- Kangaroo killing unfortunately continues this year too, therefore we ask you to oppose the slaughter of animals in Australia with your signature. Please send a protest letter to Australian authorities, adidas, and restaurants that have kangaroo meat on their menus.

- At a time when 275,000 seal pups are mercilessly killed in Canada, protests and appeals to end the slaughter continue all over Europe and the world. We ask you to send a polite letter for the ban on import of seal products to the MEPs. Their contacts you can find at www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=882.

- We regularly held new lectures in schools and faculties and our Split branch organized a projection of the video 'Bad Medicine.'

We thank everyone who supported our activities and we invite you to join us in the weeks and months to come. The credits for the successful realization of our projects goes to you as well, because only united can we make positive changes for the animals.

Your Animal Friends