01/26/08 Petition for the Rescue of the Adriatic Dolphins
Animal Friends continues campaigning for the protection of dolphins and other cetaceans
As part of the campaign "Croatia – Dolphin Friendly Country," whose aim is the legal ban on dolphin captivity and the permanent establishing of dolphin reserve at Mali Losinj, Animal Friends sent a demand for the proclamation of permanent dolphin reserve at Mali Losinj to the Nature Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Culture.
In the new stage of the campaign, Animal Friends launches a petition through which Croatian citizens can give their support for the proclamation of permanent dolphin reserve with already announced legal ban on dolphin captivity in Croatia. Other associations like Glas zivotinja, Zelena Istra, Sapa, Udruga prijatelja zivotinja dr. Ivan Rostas, etc. also give their support to the collecting of signatures.
The petition will be signed on January 26 on info stalls in Split, Slavonski Brod, Virovitica, Karlovac, Sisak, Cakova, Osijek, Vinkovci, Pula, Varazdin, and Zagreb.
On July 26, 2006, the Nature Protection Directorate proclaimed a three year dolphin reserve at Mali Losin, for which the Republic of Croatia received big support of organizations and citizens in Croatia and from abroad. Apart from protecting dolphins and their habitat, the proclamation of the permanent dolphin reserve could have a significant long-term impact for the Republic of Croatia by influencing its international reputation and helping in development of local tourism. The ever greater number of tourists visit Croatia attracted by the beauty of the nature and Croatian heritage, but also by care of the Croatian people for the protection of their sea, dolphins and other cetaceans.
Animal Friends also expects the legal ban on captivity of dolphins and other cetaceans in the Republic of Croatia, which the Nature Protection Directorate announced on few occasions during the past year.
The signing of the petition, in support to the "Croatia – Dolphin Friendly Country" campaign, will continue until the ban on dolphin captivity and the proclamation of the permanent dolphin reserve at Mali Losinj are realized in the interest of protection of cetaceans and the international reputation and the economy of the Republic of Croatia.