Reasons for starting a petition to ban horse log-pulling competitions in Croatia
Prompted by reports of abuse of horses before and during a competition in which horses pull heavy logs, the so-called štraparijada or šlajs, and especially in the case of horse beating in a stable near Karlovac, which the abusers broadcasted live on Facebook, Animal Friends Croatia and more than 50 member associations of the Animal Protection Network request that amendments to the Animal Protection Act explicitly prohibit such competitions.
The competitions are held in Lič in Gorski Kotar, in Baške Oštarije and other parts of Lika-Senj County, in Turopolje near Velika Gorica, Bater near Novi Vinodolski, Virovitica-Podravine County, Popovača and elsewhere in Croatia.
Part of the regular "preparation" and "training" for the competitions is beating horses in stables with wooden clubs, hidden from the public eye. The abuse continues day after day, for years. The goal of beating a horse is that at the competition itself, the horse reflexively reacts out of fear of being beaten, to the raising of the hand or a hand strike on the back, so that it suddenly pulls logs weighing up to two tons, which is often more than twice the weight of the horse itself.
In addition to the abuse that precedes the so-called competitions, the owners even beat their horses before the competition for an hour and a half in order to "pump them up".
During the competition, they are hit with the hand, stabbed with sticks with metal spikes or even whipped until they bleed. Horses are exposed to heavy physical strain, which exceeds their strength, yelling of crowds of people, noise of cars, heat and lack of protection from the strong sun before and during the competition. As they have very sensitive hearing, exposure to noise causes panic and fear in horses. In addition, horses also suffer in transport, considering that they are often transported over long distances and to neighboring countries, and during the summer heat, while the regulations related to the transport of animals are not respected. The abuse is motivated by the acquisition of illegal profits - the price for the winner rises to up to 10,000 euros, and the abusers earn an annual or two-year salary on such two or three horses per year, which they buy cheaply and sell expensively. Profits are also brought by illegal gambling in amounts of several tens of thousands of euros.
Because of everything mentioned above, horse log-pulling competitions are already illegal and violate a number of provisions in the field of veterinary medicine and animal protection. In addition to the fact that beating a horse is a criminal offense under Article 205 of the Criminal Code, which is punishable by imprisonment and confiscation of the animal, it is also a violation of the Animal Protection Act. Namely, it stipulates that it is forbidden to use animals for competitions "if they are forced to engage in behavior that causes pain, suffering, injury or death in the animals". They can be used for competitions after the veterinary inspector issues approval, and this is preceded by the obligation to submit an application for approval to the veterinary inspector at least seven days before the use of animals, which must contain a list of all animals that will be used, information on the previous way of keeping and using animals, purpose of use, conditions of keeping animals during use and venue of the competition.
Considering that Croatia does not have enough financial resources or veterinary inspectors who could supervise and control every stable where horses are beaten, it is illegal for the veterinary inspection to issue consent for the competitions. Horse log-pulling competitions are not in accordance with the Animal Protection Act, regulations in the field of veterinary medicine and knowledge that horse abuse is an integral part of training for these events. Therefore, the abuse of horses for competitions can only be stopped by a legal ban of the competitions.
