AGENDA
1. Welcome. Number of attendees noted, selection of the Meeting Secretary.
2. Adoption of the Minutes from the 12th AGM.
3. Review of Eco Hvar's activities during 2025.
4. Adoption of the Charity's financial report for 2025.
5. Outline of the Charity's programme for 2026.
6. Any other business.
1. WELCOME. Vivian Grisogono welcomed the attendees and confirmed that there was a quorum.
Antonija Bunčuga was elected Meeting Secretary.
2. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES FROM THE 12TH AGM.
The Minutes, which were published previously on the Eco Hvar website in English and Croatian, were circulated to the attendees in English and Croatian.
The Meeting adopted the Minutes from the 12th AGM, nem con.
3. REVIEW OF ECO HVAR'S ACTIVITIES IN 2025
For animals: Requests for help or advice, complaints
As always, throughout 2025 people contacted us with various questions, mostly via email or Facebook, occasionally by telephone. We respond as quickly as possible, usually within a day or two.
We received about 137 inquiries about animals and birds in need on Hvar and elsewhere in Croatia. There were about 97 inquiries or reports concerning stray, hungry or injured cats and abandoned kittens; c. 31 inquiries about abandoned, lost, mistreated or neglected dogs, 2 about injured birds, 2 about neglected donkeys, 2 about horses, 1 each about bats and rabbits. We do not publicize all our activities, as some animal rescues have to be carried out with discretion (to protect the animals and especially the people involved in saving them).
Cat feeding stations. The purpose of our feeding stations is to provide a source of food and water to help stray cats survive. We now have cat feeding stations in Zavala, Donje Pitve, two in Jelsa and the main one at the recycling yard on the road between Jelsa and Svirče. All are sited where the property owners have given their permission. There have been problems: poisonings and threats of poisonings; vandalism, with the cat hutches and feeders demolished or polluted with dog mess; inappropriate food such as pastries left around the feeders; wet food left unattended, turning rotten within a short time in the summer heat. Food left outside the protective hutches attracts roaming dogs: we know that at least four cats died because of dog attacks near our feeding station in the Plodine car park in Jelsa. Because of the persistent inappropriate use of that feeding station, we were forced to remove it at the end of 2025.
Despite the enthusiasm of cat-lovers for the feeding station project, it has been difficult to find volunteers to manage the feeders on a regular basis. We are grateful to everyone who has helped, especially Ivetka and Iveta who have looked after the Jelsa car park feeding station, including salvaging and repairing the hutch which was shattered and thrown into the adjoining stream by vandals.
Cat sterilizations. We are very grateful to Australian cat-lover Leanne Furlonger, who came to the island to do intensive TNR - trapping and neutering of stray cats, then returning them to their territory. She was our guest in Pitve for three weeks before moving closer to Hvar Town to continue identifying and sterilizing street cats. We learned much from her, she made a big contribution to the cat sterilization programme on Hvar.
The sterilization programme receives funds from the local authorities. While Hvar, Stari Grd and Jelsa have participated for a few years, 2025 was the first year that cats from Sućuraj were included. At the Stari Grad 'P.M.V. Animalis' Surgery a total of 267 females and 92 males were sterilized and of course more sterilizations were performed at the Hvar 'Ormondo' Surgery. In Stari Grad the finances break down as follows: local authorities, Stari Grad 70 demales, Jelsa Municipality 114 females, Sućuraj 20 femaies, Hvar Town 63 females and 24 males; Eco Hvar in collaboration with Maška Hvar 68 males, which cost just over 3082€ For context, Jelsa Municipality paid P.M.V. Animalis 6775,03€ for sterilizations in 2025.
Sterilizing street cats is a priority in controlling cat numbers on the island. With public and private funding, much is being achieved, but there is always more to do. Leanne Furlonger's visit revealed a major problem in that the demand for sterilization appointments far outstripped the supply, as both the island's vet surgeries work on limited timescales for routine work. (The situation was not helped by the fact that Leanne arrived on Maundy Thursday, so the Easter holiday, followed by the May Day holiday and subsequently a week's absence by Hvar vet Dr. Mirej reduced Leanne's ambition for intensive TNR activities during those first 3 weeks, although she still managed to achieve a significant number of street cat operations around Pitve and Vrbanj, which were much appreciated by the local residents.)
It would be a great help if the services could be extended, also to include sterilizations for street cats without appointments. We also suggest that pet cats which are sterilized should also be marked with an ear tattoo or notch, to avoid mistakes.
Cat care. There is no cat rescue facility on Hvar, so we rely on volunteers to take care of needy cats in their vicinity. This is often achieved through appeals for help via social media. Although we cannot take in sick or abandoned street cats, we try to help, if possible with transport or loans of trap-cages or normal carriers.
We are delighted that the citizens' group 'Maška Hvar', now a fully fledged registered Association, extended their activities, achieving miraculous results in helping cats in need. We hope and believe the collaboration between our organisations will strengthen as time goes on.
'Maška Hvar' have been especially successful in raising awareness about animal-related problems through intensive educational workshops in the local schools. Eco Hvar's educational activities for the young have been occasional. In 2025 we gave a lecture in the Field School on understanding and helping felines. The audience was a mixed group of pupils aged from five to 14, plus parents: the audience included those who feared, hated or were allergic to cats, so it was a challnging opportunity.
When contacting us about cats in need, people often have unrealistic expectations. Cat rescue facilities are few and far between in Croatia, and most are over-stretched in every way. The Rijeka 'Kitten Safe House' (https://www.kittensafehouse.hr/en) is an excellent (and rare) example of an organisation which does wonders for needy cats despite limited resources and endless demand. They give clear advice to cat-lovers on how to look after any sick or injured cats found in the street (https://www.kittensafehouse.hr/en/pomo%C4%87-i-za%C5%A1tita). In this way they try to avoid being treated as an emergency health centre, which would be beyond their capacities, just as it is beyoind ours!
Dog care. Lost dogs are generally reunited with their owners through appeals on the internet. For abandoned, mistreated or potentially dangerous dogs we report the case to the local town warden (komunalni redar), without naming the source of the information. The warden is responsible for investigating whether the law on animal protection is being broken: if so, the regional veterinary inspector is called in from Split to decide on appropriate action. We strongly advise well-meaning animal lovers not to intervene personally, whatever the circumstances. In 2025 we dealt with a particular case when foreign visitors were advised to try to kidnap a dog whose living conditions were inadequate, even though we informed them that we were taking the necessary legal steps to help the dog. We also warned them that their actions could lead to them being prosecuted by the police. The interference resulted in the dog being moved to even worse conditions and prolonged a situation which could have been resolved quickly and peacefully had the procedures been allowed to proceede in the normal way.
About the Beštie Animal Shelter. Where appropriate, dogs are transferred to the Beštie No-kill Animal Shelter in Kaštela Sućurac. The costs may be covered by the local authorities, or in some cases by Eco Hvar. We often contribute by delivering the dogs to the shelter personally.
We have had an excellent collaboration with the Beštie Shelter for over twelve years. All the dogs which we have entrusted to their care have been homed successfully, whether locally, in other parts of Croatia or abroad. We receive photographs from the new homes on request. While the dogs are in the shelter, they are not only fed and given medical care, but are socialized, taken for walks in the countryside and in summer they go swimming on the dog beach. The staff and volunteers at the Shelter have had particular successes in very difficult cases: from Hvar they dealt admirably with a large group of in-bred traumatized dogs of various ages several years ago; more recently the Shelter was given responsibility for many of the 60+ dogs rescued from an illegal dog-fighting ring in Split. The dogs were mainly staffordshire terriers, some crossed with wolves, all bred and trained to be as ferocious as possible. Little by little specialist volunteers have succeeded in rehabilitating and taming many of them, who have then found homes with suitable owners who understood their special needs. This is an ongoing process, all credit to everyone involved.
It has been disappointing to learn that some animal-lovers on Hvar are voicing fierce crticisms of Beštie's work and are doing their best at all costs to avoid allowing dogs to be sent there. Before our collaboration with Beštie started, saving dogs on Hvar was a nightmare. Discarded hunting dogs were often callously killed, or left to roam, to of hunger or drown in rock pools. Puppies were taken in by unsuitable owners - usually for children to play with, then thrown out when the 'adopters' realised they were not toys. Many such tragic scenarios are now avoided because we have a safe, legal system to ensure that unwanted dogs have a chance of finding a new and better life through the Beštie Shelter. We can only hope that those who denigrate the shelter will take the trouble to become better informed about their work and will not take away from needy dogs what might be their best chance of a new better start in their lives.
Animal poisonings and killings. It is tragic that some islanders choose to kill innocent animals. We ask anyone who is aware of animal poisonings to let us know the details so that we can warn people whose pets might be in danger if a particular location has been affected. We have published guidelines about what people can do in cases of poisonings in our article 'About poisonings' (http://www.eco-hvar.com/en/about-animals/404-about-poisonings).
In 2025 there were several instances of poisonings. On the Ager, poisons were scattered along the roads from a car, apparently by hunters aiming to exterminate the rodents which eat or harm the birds which are the hunters' prey. Cats and dogs fell victims as 'collateral damage'. Members of the island's Hunting Association claimed that their actions were justified. However, Eco Hvar and Jelsa's Tourist Board Director (now Mayoress) Marija Marjan contacted the Sector for Hunting at the Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Their response was unequivocal: "it is against the law on hunting to put down poisons for wild animals. Suspected transgressions should be reported to the State Inspectorate". The Croatian Hunting Federation equally condemned such activities and claimed that all its members respected the law. A report was made and the police were involved, but no conclusion was reached, official requests for information were ignored. It was disappointing to learn later in the year that the Hvar Hunting Association voted to continue using poisons in pipes against small wild animals, despite being warned that this is against the law.
For the environment: Pesticides. We have continued unceasingly to promote initiatives for environmental and health protection at international, national and local levels. A main concern is the national insect suppression programme. Current practice is to spray the whole environment from moving vehicles or aeroplanes with hazardous insecticides. Throughout Croatia it is implemented without due regard for the safety measures laid down by law. it is highly hazardous for human and animal health and the environment, and largely ineffective in controlling the targeted mosquitoes. Safer alternatives are available but are not in widespread use. After many years of observing all these problems and pointing out the deficiencies of the programme to local, regional and national responsible authorities, a new dossier has been prepared highlighting the discrepancies between the regulations and current common practices to be presented as a formal complaint to the National Inspectorate.
The routine distribution of rat poison to households is in fact illegal, so we asked Jelsa+s Mayoress Marija Marjan toput an end to theprctice.
Communications, social media networks.
Whatsapp Group: At the suggestion of our member Gareth in 2025 we started a Whatsapp chat group to share experiences and queries. The link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FiMXtz2MrDp5rHaJSankWR
Facebook. We are grateful to Dinka Barbić and Sara Radonić for managing our Facebook page, which is invaluable for spreading word about animals in need, besides highlighting articles and events of interest in keeping with Eco Hvar's aims.
Instagram: We have revived our Instagram page and thank Antonija Bunčuga for the creative designs and posts which have garnered a pleasing amount of attention.
Website www.eco-hvar.com. We continued to update the information about the adverse effects of pesticides and their approval status, alongside articles about the beauty of our island.
4. FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 2025.
The Association's income during 2025 amounted to 2990.29 €,, and the outgoings totalled 4101.57 €. On 01.01.2025 the account stood at 1382,14 €. carried over from the previous year, while on 31.12.2025 it was 270,86 €. The Association's main expenditure is on animal care, accountant's fees and bank expenses. Donations are the Association's sole source of income. None of the Association's committee or volunteers receive payments of any kind from the Association's resources.
The Meeting accepted the Financial Report for 2025 nem con.
5. PROPOSED PROGRAMME FOR 2026.
Our aims remain the same and we plan our programme accordingly.
i. We will continue to campaign for environmental protection and reduction of pesticide use.
ii. We will continue educational activities aiming to warn people of the disadvantages and dangers of poisons and pesticides.
iii. We will try to organize activities to involve the young in caring for Hvar's environment and animals.
iv. We will continue all our efforts to help animals in need on Hvar and elsewhere.
v. We will continue to support initiatives for eco-tourism on the island.
vi. We will continue to lobby for adequate conditions for wheelchair users in Jelsa and elsewhere.
vii. We will continue to cooperate with like-minded international organizations and national organizations.
viii. Special plans for dogs in conjunction with the Jelsa Tourist Board are proposals for dog beaches and dog parks.
ix. On July 24th 2026 a unique concert is planned in aid of Eco Hvar, to be held on the Pjaca in Jelsa, organized by Andrew and Tamsin Barrington from Dol.
The Meeting accepted the Proposed Programme for 2026 nem con.
6. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
There was a general discussion on topics of mutual interest. Antonija Bunčuga suggested that we could invite the dance group 'Arija' to stage a performance in aid of Eco Hvar. It was agreed that this and other public projects would be good for raising awareness and funds. Wendy Zečić suggested that we could approach relevant ministries via our local council to invite guest lecturers to speak on topics such as hunting regulations, environmental protection and safeguarding animals. It was heartwarming to learn that Nada Kozulić had helped our friend Ines Bakić to save a baby blackbird. Feeding orphaned baby birds is very time-consuming and we are grateful to Ines and all those who patiently dedicate themselves to these selfless tasks.
The meeting officially closed at 18:00
Antonija Bunčuga, Meeting Secretary Vivian Grisogono, MA(Oxon), Association President
