10/26/06 Animal Protection on Government's Agenda
Final version of Animal Protection Bill on the agenda of 192nd session of Croatian Government
After its first reading in Parliament and being returned to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Animal Protection Bill is to be presented to the Government on October 26, 2006 in Sisak, in session starting at 12 noon, with some expected, as well as unexpected amendments.
Ban on fur farming is included in the Bill because of clear arguments, expectations of the public and the support of Members of Parliament. This is a major breakthrough in development of Croatia regarding animal rights and its status in the world. Unfortunately, the proposed transitional period of as much as 10 years is absolutely exaggerated and we expect it to be reduced to a more reasonable period. The breeders themselves agree with this, because of their negative experience with the people who buy the fur off from them.
As it was expected, a very short period after which euthanasia is allowed in animal shelters was extended from 30 to 60 days. This will give more meaning to shelters and a better chance of finding a new home for abandoned animals, especially in summer. It is a step toward a total ban on killing animals because they have been abandoned by unconscientious citizens.
An unexpected and shocking amendment was left out from the regulation stating that the animals in rural households have to be rendered insensible to pain prior to being killed by an outside expert, which is a primary means of legally protecting animals from barbaric methods of slaughter. The Ministry itself has pointed out that this regulation is a necessary and a very important amendment in order to introduce a better control and give household animals equal rights to those that the animals in slaughterhouses have. It is precisely this regulation that the Ministry had made known and presented to the EU and therefore it is reasonable to expect that it should be restored to the Bill, and make the scenes of slaughtered animals running around the backyards a thing of the past.