The 2006 Fur Trade Prohibition Act came into effect as planned on 1 January 2017 in Croatia. Breeders have benefited from a 10-year period to reconvert. And the ultimate political attempt to maintain chinchillas was indignantly rejected by the citizens.
Very happy, members of Animal Friends Croatia, the main local players in this fight, decided to take cakes to the Minister of Agriculture in charge of law enforcement. Partners in their fight, One Voice had investigated hidden camera in chinchillas breeding. We had filmed the great suffering of these soft animals killed by electrocution, and contributed to the awareness of the Croatian public.
This beautiful development echoes that what was obtained in Japan in late November: the last mink farm in Otsuka closed forever. Now under the law on the prevention of invasive alien species - raccoons have left bad memories in the archipelago - no more fur farms will be able to open. The Land of the Rising Sun has joined the ranks of the nations - the Netherlands, Great Britain, Austria, and others - who have renounced the fur farms and the senseless cruelty they imply.
These
two victories show us that with the support of public opinion and
policies, we will succeed in building together a better world for
animals.
In
this regard, One Voice is particularly pleased to be part of the 40
organizations of the Fur Free Alliance whose constant work around the
world is gradually changing consumers' perception of fur.
Behind
the silky coat of mink, beyond the silvery reflections of a fox tail
collar, people now see the cages, the wounds, the babies trampled on
the wire floors and the skinned corpses thrown into the air like
waste.
A fur-free world is possible and the news coming from Japan and Croatia can only bode well for the coming year.
