True to their progressive nature, the Dutch electorate has been the first in the world to elect an "animal welfare party" into its National Parliament. With the gaining of 2 seats in Parliament, the Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals), which has been steadily growing since its founding in 2002, garnered 1.8% of the total primary vote.
Their charismatic young leader, Marianne Thieme, has done a fantastic job in steering her young, progressive party toward this major electoral success.
Their Party Website is a very well done and great place for animal and wildlife lovers. Their main platform is as follows:
Party for the Animals
The Party for the Animals is a Dutch political party that aims to improve the position of animals in our society. The party was founded to promote an awareness of the way in which humans treat animals and to emphasise that this needs to change - in the interest of not only the animals themselves, but also humans and the environment in which we all live.
Party Platform
The Party for the Animals' platform is built around the belief that both animals and humans are living creatures with emotions and a conscience and therefore, animals have the right to be treated with respect by humans. This means that regardless of whether they are in the wild or are kept in farms or homes, animals should be able to live according to their own nature and not have their well-being affected by humans without reasonable or necessary reason. The party believes the extent to which a human society is `civilised' can be measured by the way in which its members treat other living creatures and the natural environment in general.
History of the Party for the Animals
The Party for the Animals was founded in October 2002 because the political environment in the Netherlands did not (and still does not) pay any attention to the interests of animals. Other political parties place concepts such as the economy, law and order, and integration above nature, the environment, and animal welfare. The Party for the Animals will give animal welfare the priority it deserves. Taking part in the political process provides the party with the opportunity of placing the legal protection of animals high on the political and social agenda and convincing other parties to support the interests of animals.
From the day it was founded, the number of people supporting the Party for the Animals' has continually grown. In January 2003 the party stood for the first time in a Dutch parliamentary election and received 0.5% of the votes (around 50,000 votes), which just fell short of the number required for a seat in the lower house of the national parliament. In 2004, the European Parliament elections saw the Party for the Animals receive 3.2% of the votes (around 153,000 votes), again coming close to winning a seat. In terms of membership numbers, the Party for the Animals was the fastest-growing political party in the Netherlands in 2005. This is unprecedented for a young party that has not even been elected to parliament yet.
In a number of other countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and the UK, political parties similar to the Party for the Animals were recently set up, and opinion polls indicate that the Party for the Animals could potentially win 8% of the votes in the Netherlands. The Dutch political system is based upon proportional representation, which means that the heterogeneous character of the voting population is reflected in the make-up of parliament. On 22 November 2006, new parliamentary elections will take place in the Netherlands and these should see the Party for the Animals elected to the national parliament; it will be the first time in the world that a political party which champions the interests of animals has achieved this feat.
We are on the verge of an historical breakthrough in the campaign for animal rights. The success of the Party for the Animals in the Netherlands could gain international importance and thereby improve the lives of billions of animals. If you wish to assist us in our breakthrough, please send an e-mail to info@partijvoordedieren.nl Thank you very much for your support!
Even their logo is very sweet.
This is truly a fantastic result for progressive politics, green politics and especially for animals and wildlife. May this be the start of a great trend to come in European and global politics. As Ghandi noted, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated".
GO NETHERLANDS!!!