Animal Friends Croatia halts beagle experiments & wins circus animal act bans, but who are they?

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 2005:

ZAGREB–The difficulty of getting from one part of Croatia to
another may have kept Animal Friends Croatia from attending the
International Companion Animal Welfare Conference in Dubrovnik–but
they were busy.
Between October 10 and November 11, Animal Friends Croatia
won bans on circus animal acts in ten cities: Mursko Sredisce,
Varazdin, Donji Mholjac, Rovinj, Velika Gorica, Split, Delnice,
Gospic, Cakovec, and Ozalj.
The string of victories started 81 days after Animal Friends
Croatia exposed and ended a series of debilitating surgical
experiments on 32 beagles at the University of Zagreb Medical School,
following just six days of campaigning.
The campaign was amplified by all radio and TV stations in
Zagreb, five days in a row, and was endorsed by 15 leading Croatian
public figures, including national president Stejepan Mesic.
Eventually the beagles were surrendered to Animal Friends Croatia.

“The first part of the Battle for the Beagles is over,”
posted Animal Friends Croatia international campaigns coordinator
Bernard Vjeran Franolic. “The second part will be pressing charges
against Dr. Antun Brkic and Dr. Slobodan Vukicevic,” who were
responsible for the surgeries, “and the start of our campaign to
strengthen the Animal Welfare Law of Croatia.”
Who are Animal Friends Croatia? Prominent members, other
than Franolic, include president Luka Oman and spokesperson Snjezana
Klopotan. They appear to have PETA sponsorship.
Many people at the International Companion Animal Welfare
Conference knew of them from the widely distributed Animal Friends
Croatia electronic newsletter, but only one person ANIMAL PEOPLE
asked had ever actually met them, and few could recall receiving
responses to e-mails of introduction.