06/17/15 They Want to Kill Chinchillas for Fur!
Animal Friends point to a new scandal of the Ministry of Agriculture
- Disgraceful mockery of citizens' will, former and current government and Croatian legislation
While the regressive proposal to introduce hunting with bow and arrow has not yet reached the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the Ministry of Agriculture intends to distort yet another law, all under the direction of Tihomir Jakovina. In his letter to the Croatian Parliament minister Jakovina wrote that the amendments to the Animal Protection Act will allow the breeding of chinchillas for fur! Minster's letter clearly indicates that the Law Amendments Committee, the Government and the Parliament merely need to confirm the decisions already made as a formality, which makes this attempt to downgrade the Act embarrassing.
Eight years ago, the commendable provision banning the breeding of animals for fur production purposes came into effect, with the transition period of up to 10 years. This provision of Animal Protection Act was supported by the Government of the time, all leading parliamentary parties as well as those in coalition and the members of parliament, while the public opinion polls revealed that it was supported by more than 70 percent of the citizens. Beside Croatia, the ban on breeding animal for fur was also brought in United Kingdom, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, the Belgian region of Wallonia and the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Besides them, there are partial bans in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and New Zealand.
In Croatia, the breeding of chinchillas for fur is the only such known breeding, therefore the Minister Jakovina's intent to exempt the breeding of chinchillas from provision banning the breeding of animals for fur represent further mockery of Croatian legislative system, procedure of bringing the law, and of the citizens' will. Such amendments to the Law are also mockery of those breeders who have terminated the breeding of chinchillas and diverted their production in accordance with the Law.
Obviously, this is about favoring a few breeders who have, after seven years of the transitional period, registered as association, with the intention of breaking down the legal provisions. In this context, it is also questionable how the Ministry has time for Animal Protection Act derogation, that they are rushing to change before the parliamentary elections, and has no time for introducing the regulations that were, under the same law, supposed to be introduced by 2009.
At the time of banning the breeding of animals for fur there were more than 2000 chinchilla breeders in Croatia, and according to the existing data now there are around 50. It is unacceptable that such small number of people, for the purposes of their own profit, determine the legalization of disgusting breeding and killing of chinchillas only for someone's luxury and wantonness, and thus wasting of resources and environmental pollution.
With a number of existing non-animal materials, the breeding of animals for fur is completely unnecessary. Chinchillas are wild animals who need their habitats saved instead of exposing them to the cruelty of breeding. In the fur industry they are placed in cages, exposed to depression, stereotypical behavior, self-destruction and cannibalism, and their keeping for breeding purposes is abusive violation of recent scientific findings on the sensory and cognitive abilities of animals. Fur production and processing creates more greenhouse gas emissions and water and air pollution that the production of any textile. In addition, eco-fur production is yet twenty times more energetically efficient.
Other EU countries are increasingly banning the breeding of animals for fur, and it is also rejected with disgust by Croatian citizens. The possibility of the Ministry of Agriculture to decide to bring down the previously adopted provision sends a message of inconsistency and lack of professionalism, and brings damages to the reputation of Croatia.
We believe that Minister Jakovina will not enter the history as the person who allowed Croatia to perform dirty and unethical business of poignant breeding of chinchillas, and their killing in gas chambers, using electric shocks or by turning their necks, and that the Government of the Republic of Croatia will prevent the overthrow of legal provisions that are essential for ecological and civilization development of Croatia and animal protection.
The letter of Minister Jakovina for Croatian Parliament, the reasons for keeping the ban on the breeding of chinchillas in Croatia and further information can be found on www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr.
A Letter from Minister Tihomir Jakovina to the Croatian Parliament
The arguments against farming chinchillas for fur in Croatia
73.7% of Croatian Citizens against Fur Farming
![Chinchila [ 161.94 Kb ]](/data/image_3_9717.jpg "Chinchila [ 161.94 Kb ]")
![Chinchilla - skinning, photo: One Voice [ 217.44 Kb ]](/data/image_3_9718.jpg "Chinchilla - skinning, photo: One Voice [ 217.44 Kb ]")
Photo copyright: One Voice (free use only for the purpose of this campaign but must be credited as authors)
