In early October, the European Commission initiated a complaint
procedure against Slovenia for the hunting of bears. The Society for the
Rights and Liberation of Animals hereby alerts responsible,
caring people in America to the fact that killing bears and other
animals is unconstitutional, unnecessary, and might be fatal for the
human race. Since our government ignores us we have decided to call upon
the European Commission for help.
The Slovenian Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning has
decreed the killing of 100 bears in the year 2006. The Commission has
already demanded a written explanation of this decree from the Slovene
authorities, but up to now has received no answer.
Although the state does not have reliable figures for brown bears, it
still goes on with destroying this species, which is internationally
protected. The government has admitted that killing the bears is not a
long-term solution and that it doesn’t even know the optimum number for
brown bears. The slaughter of bears in Slovenia carries on, regardless.
The Slovenian government is ignorant of the scientifically confirmed
fact that nature and animals contain their own regulating mechanisms
which make human interference with weapons unnecessary. An admission of
this ignorance was revealed in an interview in the magazine “Osvoboditev živali” given by a former Slovene hunter, who also admitted that the one
and only motive of hunters is a passion for killing. He also finds it
absurd that hunters claim to love nature and animals. We all
know that “love” that kills living creatures isn’t a real love.
Our Society meeting took place at an International conference about
animal rights in Vienna in October The problems with the hunting in
Slovenia were explained to other animal protectors.
The connection between the Catholic Church and the killing of animals
was also presented to the participants. They were invited to encourage
the Church in their own countries to change its destructive and shameful
attitude towards animals, and to stop hiding the fact that Jesus of
Nazareth was himself a vegetarian and a great friend of animals. He
would definitely not agree with slaughtering millions of animals to
celebrate Christmas!
Some participants could not believe that in Slovenia there is a
so-called “Huberus’s mass,” where priests bless hunters and hunted
animals, and that some priests are even hunters. Slovenia’s President
Mr. Janez Drnovšek, who is also against a hunter, expressed support for
the Conference.
For more information, contact:
The Society for the Rights and the Liberation of Animals, Ostrožno pri
Ponikvi 26, 3232 Ponikva, Slovenia, President: Stanko Valpatič, tel.: 00
386 (0)5763-303, cell phone: +386 (0)31 499 756,
www.osvoboditev-zivali.org, info@osvoboditev-zivali.org
