Dutch Party of the Animals wins 2 seats
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2006:
AMSTERDAM–Two candidates fielded by the Dutch Party of the
Animals on November 22, 2006 won seats in the 150-member Dutch
legislature.
“We are thrilled,” party leader Marianne Thieme said.
“Finally we can start realizing our party’s highest priority, namely
ending all animal suffering. We want a constitutional amendment
guaranteeing animals the right to freedom from pain, fear and stress
caused by humans. Let’s begin,” Thieme suggested, “by easing the
suffering of cows, pigs, and chickens stuck in factory farms.”
Thirty candidates ran for the Party of the Animals, in an
election so closely contested by the Christian Democrat and Labor
parties that neither gained a majority and fringe parties have the
chance to broker key roles in forming a coalition government.
A week after the Dutch election about 200 people celebrated
the organization of a new British party, Animals Count, headed by
World Society for the Protection of Animals education and training
coordinator Jasmijn de Boo, 31.
Employed in Dutch animal welfare work since 1992, de Boo
helped to organize the Dutch Party for the Animals. She was hired by
WSPA in October 1994.
Priorities for Animals Count, de Boo told BBC News, would
be ending hunting, factory farming, and live exports.