12/17/08 Wild Animals Out of the Confinement of Apartments
Animal Friends supports the decision of the city authorities which forbids keeping dangerous and potentially dangerous animal species
Animal Friends believes that the decision about the conditions and ways of keeping companion animals and treating abandoned and lost animals by the City of Zagreb, which forbids keeping dangerous and potentially dangerous animals as companion animals, is extremely important for the welfare and protection of both animals and men, nevertheless believes that it could be even stricter.
Animal Friends' attitude is based on animal protection, and applauds the decision which will help animals that are suffering in a lifetime confinement out of their natural surroundings only for human entertainment.
It is clear that the place for exotic animals is not in Croatia, still less in someone's apartment. It is also clear that snakes, spiders, frogs, crocodiles, monkeys, and other wild animals suffer in confinement, and no matter how much we try, we can't ensure them normal conditions out of their natural habitats.
It is also clear that those animals have already suffered in merciless and cruel animal trade, and that their confinement is a result of human insolence and not mercy towards animals, as in giving homes to abandoned dogs and cats.
According to that, the attitude of all those people who represent animal rights is that human hobbies and interests which make animals suffer should be condemned by all the citizens who, regardless of their own sensibility towards animals, know very well that animals don't belong in glass boxes or human homes, which to them represent lifetime imprisonment.
If we also add the factor of human protection, it is clear that citizens – along with abandoned dogs - don't need abandoned or runaway crocodiles, spiders, snakes, monkeys and other animals which are dangerous and difficult to care of.
The decision of the city authorities on keeping exotic and wild animals should even have been made stricter for the animals' sake, thus the city authorities shouldn't waste their time on those who want to make even more money by trading with animals.
To those who have already bought or who keep wild animals in confinement – out of ignorance or on purpose – this decision gives the option of keeping them for as long as they live, but forbids their further breeding and keeping in order to stop further suffering of animals.
In this holiday season, Animal Friends pleads to those people who are thinking about buying an animal to rather do a good deed and give a warm home to one of the abandoned dogs or cats, than supporting cruel animal trading.
Animal Friends also believes that the decision of the city authorities should not disregard the part on obligatory microchipping of all of dogs, because that directly contributes to solving the problem of abandoning animals. This would also lower the amount of money from the city budget, which is spent due to irresponsible citizens who abandon their animals. Velika Gorica passed that decision in 2005, and Pozega and Zadar have done that this year.
