Animal issues higher on political agenda in The Netherlands thanks to Party for the Animals
The Dutch political Party for the Animals has achieved far more for animals in the past two years than the many years before two MPs were elected for this party in November 2006. The party's rising popularity was also reflected in the recent district water board elections. The party gained a total of eight seats in the six districts that it contested, bringing the total number of elected representatives up to twenty.
The Dutch newspaper NRC, reviewed the activities (motions, questions and submitting draft bill proposals) of the two MPs Marianne Thieme and Esther Ouwehand. Some politicians, and most opinion-makers agree that the influence of the two MPs has had positive spin-off effects on other parties.
The party has had numerous successes including a ban on round fish bowls (as they are animal-unfriendly), stricter video monitoring of livestock at markets (to detect welfare problems), a ban on docking horse tails, greater government investment in promoting conversion of animal protein into plant-based protein, implementation of tougher rules than the EU requires on the transport of animals, and an earlier ban on enriched battery cages for laying hens (to be implemented in 2017 which is four years earlier than the Agricultural Minister's original plan).
Clearly, the Dutch Party for the Animals is here to stay, and is set to win at least one seat in next year's European Parliamentary (EP) elections in June. The party has also inspired many abroad, who are thinking of establishing or have established similar parties. Recently, a new party for animals in Israel, Let Live, was elected into Tel Aviv City Council!
Jasmijn, Animals Count Chair, attended the December 2008 Dutch Party for the Animals Congress, which was attended by over 300 members. It was encouraging to see so many people actively involved within the party at all levels. Animals Count is steadily growing, but we could always use more support, both financially and practically. We are still in need of several thousands of pounds to be able to contest the June 2009 EP elections.
Meanwhile, we would like to wish everyone who has supported Animals Count in 2008 a fantastic New Year! Thank you for your help and we hope the animals can count on you again next year.
30 December, 2008 
International weekly wordlog by Dutch Party for the Animals leader launched in 9 languages
Today Marianne Thieme, leader of the Dutch Party for the Animals, launched an international 'worldlog' with the help of a team of 24 translators.
Her goal is to inform kindred spirits across the globe about her work both within and outside of the Dutch parliament. The Worldlog will appear every week, first in Dutch, German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Turkish; other languages will soon follow. The Worldlog is part of the new Party for the Animals international website. The website and the Worldlog have been set up in response to increasing foreign interest in the Party.
Marianne Thieme will be reporting on the pioneering work of the Party for the Animals; the first political party in parliament, which does not primarily represent human interests. In the meantime, Parties for the Animals have been set up, including UK's Animals Count, whose Chair, Jasmijn de Boo, was a candidate for the European Parliament elections in 2004 for the Dutch Party for the Animals. Similar initiatives are in the process of establishing themselves in numerous other countries.
In the Worldlog, Marianne Thieme will share her experiences with other proponents of animal rights. She also wants to inspire others to develop similar political activities and thereby ensure that we literally do justice to animals.
The Party for the Animals is currently the fastest growing political party in the Netherlands. In addition, the Party now also has its own youth organisation and a scientific bureau. The latter recently produced Meat the Truth, a documentary on climate change. On the basis of scientific reports, this film demonstrates that the livestock industry worldwide is responsible for the emission of more greenhouse gasses than all the cars, lorries, trains, ships and planes combined. The documentary will be screened this summer in, among other places, Brussels, London, Dresden, New York, Madrid, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Beijing, and Singapore.
18 March, 2008
Dutch 'Party for the Animals' awards and successes
The Dutch 'Political Party for the Animals' (Partij voor de Dieren, PvdD) has been very successful over the past year. Leader Marianne Thieme has won an 'Angel' award from a Christian political party (Youth Chapter) for her achievements in working towards 'Respect for all forms of Life'. She was also named 'Animal Protectionist of the Year' by the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals.
Since Marianne Thieme and Esther Ouwehand were installed as MPs in the Dutch government in November 2006 they have asked so many animal welfare questions that a new Ministerial officer had to be hired to reply to them. They also submitted numerous motions and held passionate speeches on all animal protection issues.
When the recent policy document on animal welfare was discussed in parliament several weeks ago, the Party for the Animals had submitted 41 motions due to the policy document being very weak and conservative. Three motions were accepted, including compulsory CCTV at livestock markets and the need for an action plan to tackle the fraudulent trade in dogs.
The fact that people really care about animals in the Netherlands is demonstrated by their membership figures; in 2007 they were again the fastest growing political party and now have nearly 7,000 members. Animals Count is growing too, but we need you to help raise our profile in order to reach the hundreds of thousands of animal lovers in the UK!
28 February, 2008
HISTORY OF THE DUTCH PARTY FOR ANIMALS
The Dutch cabinet fell in October 2002 as a result of all the in-fighting and political disasters with the List Pim Fortuyn. Two ladies from the animal protection organisation 'Fur for Animals' decided then that something had to be done.
They established a political 'Party for the Animals,' and Marianne Thieme (lawyer and animal protection policy coordinator) became its leader. They felt there was an opportunity to show that there was a viable alternative to the anti-animal welfare politics, and they announced that the Party for the Animals would participate in the elections of January 2003.
Many people laughed at this idea, and hardly anyone took them seriously. With minimal budget, staff, experience and full-time external jobs, they started their political campaign. Because the Party appeared so 'out of place' in the political arena, they received a lot of (free) media attention, and consequently, within two to three months enough people had been mobilised to ensure that all but one of approximately 19 electoral districts were allowed to participate in the elections. Philosophers, lawyers and numerous artists, including top authors, lent their support for the Party, which was instrumental in its subsequent political success.
The new initiative had an important role to play. A vote for the Party for the Animals was, in fact, a strong signal that all other parties had failed to address animal issues adequately, and that animals deserve to be at the top of the political agenda.
It was not just a protest vote; it meant that what the Green Party could achieve for the environment, the 'Party for the Animals' could do for animals.
Putting the 'Party for the Animals' on the map
The electoral result was astounding; the new animal Party
received more than 49,000 votes, and was just 500 votes short of
a seat in parliament! This result was very encouraging. The
advantage of Dutch proportional representation is that small
parties have a real chance of getting into Parliament. The two
winners were the Christian Democrats and 'Labour' (while the List
Pim Fortuyn was drastically reduced). However, after months of
negotiation, the two could not come together in a coalition, and
so the Christian Democrats invited the Liberal Democrats and the
Democrats (D66) to join and form a (centre-) right coalition.
Again, this was bad news for the animals. But the Party for the Animals concept proved not to be a passing fad. The Party remained active on the sidelines, commenting on political decisions that had a negative impact on animals, and the Party still received plenty of media attention.
European Parliament elections: June 2004
The Party for the Animals decided to participate in the European
Parliament elections in June 2004. Although it seemed to be
aiming high, the Party felt that since many animal issues are
dealt with in 'Brussels', it was an important place for them to
be.
Jasmijn de Boo was actively involved with the Dutch political 'Party for the Animals' from September 2003 to October 2004. She started with general outreach, and then became coordinator of a working group ('chapter') in the southern province 'Noord-Brabant.' She represented the Party for the Animals at Biotechnology hearings at the Ministry of Agriculture, where citizens and NGOs have the opportunity to ask questions to scientists and submit objection letters to biotechnological proposals, after which the Ministry decides whether the proposals are accepted or rejected.
She wrote a chapter on animal experimentation and alternatives for the electoral programme, and became an electoral candidate for the MEP elections in June 2004. She was number 5 on the list of 20 candidates, and the youngest overall.
In 2004 outreach was extensive and public awareness of the Party for the Animals rapidly increased, resulting in many more active recruits to the Party for the Animals and its political campaign. Political commentators predicted that the Party for the Animals might gain one or two seats in the new European Parliament.
As a consequence, other (social) parties became nervous. They added animal issues to their campaign agenda, and two parties (D66 and SP) actually used an animal rather than a human candidate on their campaign posters!
On Election Day on the 10th of June, the Party for the Animals received over 153,000 votes (more than triple our January 2003 total), which was 3.2% of the overall total. 3.7% was the minimum necessary to gain a seat.
This was disappointing, but amazing at the same time, because achieving 3.2% of the vote would have resulted in 5 seats had this occurred during the Dutch parliamentary elections! The most important result, however, was the positive influence on the other parties.
The Party for the Animals decided to become a watchdog party, seeking to ensure that those who had added animal welfare to their agenda lived up to their promises.
An interesting observation was that about 1/3 of the votes came from people who had previously voted for CDA or the Christian Union-from those who felt that Christian values of stewardship were lacking in these political parties (although the Christian Union, at least, has an animal welfare agenda). The votes came from the entire political spectrum, demonstrating that animal advocacy does not necessitate a certain political 'colour'.
The profile of the Party for the Animals remained very high in The Netherlands, and although the Members and Board decided in October 2005 not to take part in the local elections of May 2006, the recent Dutch National Elections on 22 November 2006 have finally proven to reward the relentless efforts for the animals.
December 2006