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Party of the Animals learns to walk young
If Partij voor de Dieren (Party of the Animals) co-founder Marianne Thieme has her way, the Dutch MP will do away with most of the “industrial” pig farming practices that her country’s farmers have honed and spread around the world.Thieme is one of two animal rights candidates to win seats in the Dutch parliament last fall, according to the BBC. Thieme wants to abolish castration of farm animals and to replace biotechnology with organic farming. She was quoted a saying that “I miss compassion in our society...We are treating (animals)...like bicycles.”
Thieme’s Party for the Animals has caught on fast. Founded in 2002, the party stood in the Dutch parliamentary election the next January and received 0.5 per cent of the votes (around 50,000 votes), A year later, the party received 3.2 per cent of the votes (around 153,000 votes) in elections for the European Parliament. From embryo to insider in a few years.
Canada’s Green Party should be taking notes. BF
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