04/24/03 Another Appeal to Join Europe
Animal Friends in front of the City Government
If Venice, Vienna, over 50% of British municipalities, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Israel, and many other cities and countries could ban circuses with animal acts, so can Zagreb!
After several demonstrations in front of the circus Embell Riva on Zagrebacki Velesajam (Zagreb Fair), Animal Friends decided to make another step forward and to go directly in front of the City Government so we could once more ask city councilors to ban circuses with animal acts.
We invite all media to cover short and peaceful demonstration in front of the building of the City Government on Stjepan Radic Square. It will take place on Friday, April 25, at 11 A.M.
A goal of this demonstration, and the entire campaign as well, is banning of circuses with animal acts. We ask the mayor Pavic to listen to our arguments and to realize that the public supports our suggestions. The petition for the banning of circuses with animal acts is being signed and the citizens are very supportive. The media themselves, almost unanimously, joined our appeals to the City of Zagreb to ban circuses with animal acts.
The petition for the banning of circuses with animal acts can be signed on the Animal Friends' web site www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr, and on the stalls that will be put on Ban Josipa Jelacic Square as a part of a Green Action on Friday and Saturday, on Ante Starcevic Square by the entry to Importanne Center on Thursday, April 24, on the Trg hrvatskih velikana on Friday, April 25, and on Tratinska ulica by the shopping center on Saturday, April 26, all beginning at 11 A.M.
The most famous world circus Cirque du Soleil from Quebec, refuses to use animals as performers and states that nobody should take part in such cruelty, because animals should be in a jungle not in the cages. On the press conference we showed shocking tapes presenting abuse of circus animals: beating, isolation, inhuman transport, captivity and killing of wild caged animals. These are the ways the animals are trained and every circus with animal acts uses such treatment. If there were "better" ways of treating circus animals, then these circuses wouldn't be banned in numerous countries of Western Europe.
So we ask the city of Zagreb to join those "ethical" cities that ban circuses with animal acts. Therefore Animal Friends organizes a peaceful demonstration in front of the building of the City Government.
