On Friday, the Bishop of Bjelovar-Križevci, Vjekoslav Huzjak, went hunting and wounded another member of the hunting party. The police have filed criminal charges against him for the criminal offence of endangering life and property by a dangerous act or means, reports Večernji List on January 15, 2019.

The hunting accident occurred on Friday morning at the Kraljeva Velika hunting site, in the area of Lipovljani. Bishop Huzjak (58), who is known to be a passionate hunter, participated in an organised and officially sanctioned hunt. According to a police statement about the incident, which did not identify the bishop, he and another hunter were some 90 metres from each other. At one point, the bishop fired a shot from his hunting carabine trying to hit a wild boar, but missed and instead hit the 64-year-old hunter in a thigh.

The wounded hunter was provided with medical assistance at the Dubrava Clinical Hospital, where he was diagnosed with severe bodily injuries that are not life-threatening. It was established that the bishop was not under the influence of alcohol. The police took the weapon which he used during the hunt.

Because of the criminal offence, criminal charges will be filed with the Sisak Municipal Prosecutor's Office.

Zvonimir Ancić, the spokesperson of the Croatian Bishop's Conference, confirmed that the incident had taken place.

After the news of an incident was published on the internet, the Bjelovar-Križevci Diocese said that the bishop was sorry about what happened and wished a quick recovery to the injured hunter.

“Bishop Vjekoslav Huzjak participated on Friday in a hunt where the incident took place. The competent state bodies are carrying out the legally prescribed procedure at the end of which we will issue another statement. The bishop expresses his deep regret over everything that has happened and wishes a quick recovery to the injured hunter,” the Bjelovar-Križevci Diocese said in the statement.

More news on the Catholic Church in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Danijel Prerad, Darko Pavičić).

ZAGREB, October 27, 2018 - The first international protest to ban hunting, organised by the Animal Liberation initiative, was held in downtown Zagreb on Saturday with loud drumming and banners with photos of killed animals and messages against killing them.

About 50 activists from Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in a protest march, calling on citizens to join them so as to put an end to the killing of animals. They said taxpayers participated in the financing of it.

Activist Robert Međugorac told reporters that, although they were for a complete hunting ban, they realised they would not succeed "because the lobbies are strong."

He condemned the Croatian Agriculture Ministry's reward of 1,200 kuna (162 euro) for each fox or jackal killed.

Organisers said more and more people had a very negative view of "the cold-blooded shooting of innocent animals" and that this was reflected in a declining number of hunters. Still, in 2016 hunters killed 4,250 deer, up 3% on the year, and nearly 30,000 wild boars, up 9.5% on the year, they added.

For more information about the latest from the Croatian capital, click here.

Pero Jelinić was killed while hunting a month ago, and the circumstances of the incident are still vague.

The police are investigating whether the weapon used in fatal hunting was legal and who was holding the rifle.

January 28, 2018 - The dead hunter was with two other Croatian hunters when he was shot, reports South African media.