This month we’re celebrating 15 years of the Party for the Animals in the Dutch parliament. On 22 November 2006, for the first time in the world, a Party for the Animals was elected into a national parliament. We became world news. Since then, we have achieved multiple successes, together with over 20 sister parties around the entire world. All in all, we are with over 180 representatives in local...
This week, the European Parliament will vote on some 270 billion Euros in European agricultural subsidies that are part of the Common Agricultural Policy. MEP Anja Hazekamp of the Dutch Party for the Animals has, together with other MEPs, submitted a proposal to reject these plans. "This agricultural policy is virtually a blank cheque to continue to subsidise environmentally harmful and animal-unf...
At the end of October, the Dutch Party for the Animals submitted a “Climate Law 1.5” proposal. With this new and stricter Climate Law, the party wants to force the government to actually treat the climate crisis as a crisis, and to pursue climate policies that focus on limiting global warming to 1.5°C at most. “This is the most direct translation of the Paris Agreement“, says Lammert van Raan, Mem...
In Glasgow and across Europe, political parties for animal rights and our planet took to the streets to join the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice. Their message: in order to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises, we need to stop investing in the livestock industry. “The livestock industry causes more emissions of greenhouse gasses than all cars, ships, trucks, trains and airplanes com...
A very successful monthOnce again, October was a month marked by various successes for our international political movement for animals, nature and the environment. In the Netherlands, our Party for the Animals team got a majority of the House of Representatives to vote in favour of our proposal to stop using pesticides by 2035 at the latest. This forces the Dutch government to work out concrete s...
A large majority of the European Parliament last week approved plans by the Party for the Animals for a healthy, sustainable and more animal-friendly food system. Parliament voted for reducing the number of animals in European livestock farms, curbing greenhouse gases in the livestock industry and combating the loss of nature. The use of pesticides and antibiotics must be at least halved by 2030. ...
Last month’s local and regional elections in Germany resulted in a historic win for the German Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz. Meanwhile it’s Portuguese sister party PAN – Pessoas-Animais-Natureza also achieved unprecedented growth. A clear sign that voters no longer accept the inaction and failing policies of the larger, established parties on the protection of animals, biodiversity and the envi...
Thanks to a proposal by the Dutch Party for the Animals, the use of pesticides in Dutch agriculture is coming to an end. A majority of the House of Representatives last week supported the call to help farmers switch to an entirely non-toxic way of farming by 2035. And in the European Parliament, a majority voted in favour of the Party for the Animals’ proposal to ban a dangerous fungicide.
Anja Hazekamp of the Dutch Party for the Animals and six other MEP’s call on the organization of the 26th UN Climate Conference in Glasgow (COP26) to serve plant-based food by default during the two week long summit in November. “Less meat and dairy reduces the emission of greenhouse gasses and lessens climate change. Especially during a leading climate conference it is important to set the right ...
I concluded my last blog before the summer with lots of good news, but with big challenges as well like the climate crisis, the degradation of our nature and the role of the livestock industry in that matter. So after summer recess, we’re back full force to tackle these challenges. "Stop Cutting"Last week, the most important Dutch political moment of the year took place: the ceremony at which the...
Last week, European Parliament supported the call for an action plan to end animal testing in Europe as quickly as possible. Thanks to a proposal by the Dutch Party for the Animals, this action plan must include concrete targets to phase out the number of animal tests. Good news for the 22 million laboratory animals that are used in European labs every single year!
The past decade has seen the rise of a unique international political movement. All across the globe, political parties for animal rights, nature and the environment have emerged -and- been elected. Bringing an eco-centric and global perspective to the political arena, these parties aim to gain influence, not necessarily for power – and with success! Whether it is from within or outside parliament...
Positive news from the EU after a summer of wildfires and alarming conclusions from the IPCC in its most recent report on climate change. Last week, a majority of the European Parliament’s Climate and Agriculture commissions, recognized the impact of our current food system on climate, health, and nature, and voted for substantial reform. A breakthrough long pushed for by MEP Anja Hazekamp of the ...