Worldlog Tjedan 52 – 2014

Ovog je tjedna došlo do velikog napretka po pitanju dobrobiti životinja u Nizozemskoj. Od 2015. godine zabranit će se da divlje životinje nastupaju u cirkusima. Ovaj je zakon bio najavljen još 2012., te smo ga zbilja dugo čekali. Isti se zakon usvaja i u Meksiku ovaj tjedan! Otkad smo osnovali stranku borimo se za zabranu držanja divljih životinja u cirkusima , te smo se zbilja obradovali. No, jako sam iznenađena da deve, ljame i alpake ne padaju pod taj zakon, te ću o tome postaviti Zastupnička pitanja.

Dojmio me i temelj na kojemu se najavili zabranu: kabinet je kao razlog za zakon naveo da zabava ljudi nije opravdan razlog za narušavanje integriteta životinja. Dakle, nije u pitanju samo dobrobit životinja, već i poštovanje prema samoj životinji koji čine temelje ovog zakona i ovoj zabrani. Ovo je zbilja velik uspjeh u borbi za dobrobit životinja, te se nadam da će istim očima gledati i druge zakone. Kako god, mi ćemo se svakako potruditi!

Još lijepih vijesti! Većina Donjeg doma glasala je za naš prijedlog o ograničavanju korištenja otrova oko velikih zelenih površina. Uzgoj lukovica i drugih uskrasnih biljaka, za koje se koristi dosta otrova, ne bi se smjele uzgajati oko takvih područja. Iako vlada ima zakonsku obavezu uklanjati štetne aktivnosti s prirodnih područja, uzgoj lukovica na tim područjima i dalje nije kažnjivo. Tako su biljni otrovi godinama zagađivali lijepu prirodu , koja se zapravo trebala štititi. Sada je na provincijama da zabrane korištenje tih otrova.

Zadnji je tjedan božićnog otpusta bio buran tjedan u Nizozemskoj politici. Senat je (uključujući našeg senatora) glasao protiv zakonskog prijedloga koji ograničava slobodni izbor doktora. Ta je većina nastala jer su tri senatora iz vladine stranke PvdA neočekivano glasali protiv. PvdA je tokom izbora obećavao da će zaustaviti utjecaj tržišta na zdravstvo i ovaj je prijedlog zakona (želja koalicijskog partnera VVD) protivan tome. Kabinetom je odjeknuo bijes i izvršen je neviđen pritisak na predstavnike naroda da kažu „da“ protiv groznog plana koji bi naškodio pravima pacijenata. Uslijedila je kriza i potraga za pravim rješenjem.

Kriza u kabinetu ne dolazi kao iznenađenje. Vladajuće stranke ideološki su suprotni polovi. Želja da nastave vladati (obje stranke strašno loše stoje prema anketama, dvije trećine glasača više ne podržava ovaj kabinet) je toliko velika da su na kraju iznijeli popis kojim na koncu izlaze iz okvira parlamenta kako bi prijedlog zakona prošao. Debata po tom pitanju trajala je do kasno u noć.

Ne ljudi, već novac stoji u središtu trenutnog Nizozemskog zdravstva. To bi se moglo zaključiti i iz prijetnje zatvaranja jedinog vegetarijanskog doma za starije i nemoćne u Nizozemskoj. Ovo sam pitanje isto stavila u dnevni red za Zastupnička pitanja.

Iz jednog istraživanja doznajemo da je ultrasitna prašina koju ispuštaju zrakoplovi zapravo mnogo štetnija za ljudsko zdravlje nego što smo prvotno mislili. Osim zagađenja okoliša, vode i do zdravstvenih rizika za stanovništvo. Državna tajnica poručila nam je da se izvrši i sekundarno istraživanje, no nije imala odgovore za potrebne zdravstvene mjere. No, izjave su svakako bile ohrabrujuće, iako je išćekivanje naporno.

Ovaj je razgovor s Britanskim zanstvenikom o održivom razvoju, Timom Jacksonom, o dilemi ekonomskog rasta vrlo je zanimljiv i vrijedan pogleda. Možemo li ostati dobrostojeći bez ekonomskog rasta? Tim Jackson uvjeren je da možemo, te da je i potrebno za očuvanje zemlje.

http://programma.vpro.nl/gesprekop2/afleveringen/2012/aflevering-7-tim-jackson.html

Za nadolazeće blagdane smo diljem Nizozemske aktivnim članovima Stranke za životinje podijelili letke na kojemu se nalazi ekološki recept i animal friendly želje. Nadam se da će se mnoštvo ljudi oglasiti na te želje, te i vama želim ugodne blagdane i zdravu, te sretnu 2015.!

Marianne

This week, there was a major breakthrough for animal welfare in the Netherlands. As from 2015, it is truly prohibited to make wild animals perform in circuses. This prohibition was announced in 2012 already and it took a long time. The same prohibition was adopted in Mexico this week! Since our foundation we have called for the prohibition of animals in circuses and we are, therefore, very pleased with this result. But I am very surprised that camels, lamas, alpacas and dromedaries do not fall under this prohibition and we will put questions about this to the State Secretary.

But what is even more striking to me is the ground on which the prohibition is imposed: the reason given by the cabinet for the legislative proposal is that entertainment for people cannot justify violation of animal integrity. Thus, not only animal welfare but also respect for the animal itself is the basis for a legal act to ban performances with animals. This marks a milestone in the government’s policy on animal welfare and I hope that they will look at other issues the same way. We will work hard to achieve this in any case!

More good news! A majority of the Lower House voted in favour of our motion to curtail the use of toxins around nature areas. The growing of bulbs and other cultivations for which large amounts of toxins are used will no longer be permitted unjustifiably. Although, by law, the government has the task to eliminate damaging activities in vulnerable nature areas, it did not yet interfere with the growing of bulbs. This way, toxic pesticides have damaged nature areas for years, while in fact they should have been protected. It is now up to the provinces to restrain the use of toxins.

The last week before the Christmas recess was an eventful week in Dutch politics. The Senate (including our Senator) voted against the legislative proposal that limits the free choice of doctors. The majority arose because three senators of the governing party the Labour Party (LP) unexpectedly voted against the proposal. The LP promised during the elections that it would stop market forces in the care sector, and this legislative proposal (the wish of the coalition party People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (PPFD)) is contrary to this promise. The Cabinet was furious and exerted unprecedented pressure on the people’s representation to still say yes to the ill-fated plan to affect the patients’ law. A crisis followed, and they diligently searched for a solution.

The cabinet crisis is not surprising. The governing parties are each other’s ideological counterparties. The wish to continue to govern (they both are dramatically low in the opinion polls, two third of the voters no longer want this government) is so great that in the end they came up with a trick that would sideline the parliament, if necessary, to push the legislative proposal through. The debate on this went on till early in the morning.

The focus is on money instead of people in the current Dutch care policy. This is also evident from the threat to close the only vegetarian care centre for the elderly in the Netherlands. I have, therefore, asked parliamentary questions on this.

This week, research showed that the emission of ultrafine particles by aircrafts is much higher and more harmful than thought. In addition to environmental pollution, it also causes health risks for people living in the direct vicinity. The State Secretary promised us to be willing to conduct follow-up research, but was not prepared to take precautionary measures. These reports are however very alarming and the wait-and-see policy is highly negligent!

This interview with the British professor of sustainable developments on the dilemma of economic growth is very interesting to watch. Can we maintain our welfare without economic growth? Tim Jackson is convinced that we can, and that it should be done in the interest of the earth.

With the festive season coming up, many active members of the Party for the Animals handed out flyers in the Netherlands with a vegetable recipe and animal-friendly Christmas greetings. I sincerely hope that many people will respond to this and I wish you all a merry Christmas and a healthy, happy 2015.

Marianne