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ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS
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NOVEMBER 2005
Animal Friends Croatia halts beagle experiments
& wins circus animal act bans, but who are they?
ZAGREB––The difficulty of getting from one part of Croatia to another may have kept Animal Friends Croatia from attending the International Companion Animal Welfare Conference in Dubrovnik––but they were busy.
Between October 10 and November 11, Animal Friends Croatia won bans on circus animal acts in ten cities: Mursko Sredisce, Varaz-din, Donji Mholjac, Rovinj, Velika Gorica, Split, Delnice, Gospic, Cakovec, and Ozalj.
The string of victories started 81 days after Animal Friends Croatia exposed and ended a series of debilitating surgical experiments on 32 beagles at the University of Zagreb Medical School, following just six days of campaigning.
The campaign was amplified by all radio and TV stations in Zagreb, five days in a row, and was endorsed by 15 leading Croatian public figures, including national president Stejepan Mesic.
Eventually the beagles were surrendered to Animal Friends Croatia.
“The first part of the Battle for the Beagles is over,” posted Animal Friends Croatia international campaigns coordinator Bernard Vjeran Franolic. “The second part will be pressing charges against Dr. Antun Brkic and Dr. Slobodan Vukicevic,” who were responsible for the surgeries, “and the start of our campaign to strengthen the Animal Welfare Law of Croatia.”
Who are Animal Friends Croatia? Prominent members, other than Franolic, include president Luka Oman and spokesperson Snjezana Klopotan. They appear to have PETA sponsorship.
Many people at the International Companion Animal Welfare Conference knew of them from the widely distributed Animal Friends Croatia electronic newsletter, but only one person ANIMAL PEOPLE asked had ever actually met them, and few could recall receiving responses to e-mails of introduction.