Sarajevo  - Two colts died in the last couple of days in the Lipizzaner horse farm at Vucijak in the north-western Bosnian town of Prnjavor due to neglect and bad conditions, Banja Luka daily Nezavisne novine reported Wednesday.

The Banja Luka-based Association for Protection of Animals (NOA), according to the report, initiated activities to help horses in Vucijak and warned that another three colts were in critical condition, out of nine young Lipizzaner horses.

"The health condition of the entire new generation of horses at the farm, from 10 days to three months old, is alarming," Dragomir Mijic of the NOA said.

He also said it would be difficult to expect that the conditions of young Lipizzaner horses would improve anytime soon due to poor and inadequate feeding of mares at the farm.

"Due to malnutrition and low quality of the mares' milk, the colts are weak and suffer from very weak immunity," said Mijic.

He also warned that no disinfection barriers were installed at the Vucijak horse-farm, placing both the horses and people at the farm in danger of catching diseases.

The NOA said it informed the Bosnian Serb Government, as well as the World Veterinary Association and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) about the bad situation at the Vucijak Lipizzaner farm and asked for help in preserving some 90 highly-bred horses.

The director of the horse-farm Vucijak Slavko Crnic confirmed that the conditions at the farm have been critical and that he also asked some international Lipizzaner associations for help.

NOA last month also initiated a rescue operation for a big brown bear called Miljen, who was left locked up in a personal zoo without proper food and care for some two years in the western Bosnian town of Prijedor.

In cooperation with the French organization Respectons Miljen, he was transported to the Refuge de l'Arche refuge center for animals in Chateau-Gontier near Paris. (dpa)