One of the standard questions asked of me is who my role models are. Any creative person who has reached the top of their ability and is comfortable with doing good fits into my list.

 

At the moment my role model is Marianne Thieme. She makes me aware of how little I have done. Today I am going to write her story and beliefs in the hope that one day someone better than me will emulate her shining example.
Marianne Thieme is a Dutch politician and animal activist.

 

She is the chairperson and founder of the first animal rights party in history that is represented in a national parliament. Her Party for the Animals has won two seats in the Dutch National Parliament, nine seats in the Dutch Provincial Governments and one seat in the Dutch Senate.

 

This is, mind you, in a country that only eats meat and cheese. A country whose people are regarded as dour and without imagination. This is not India where 50% of people, and all the most influential people including the Minister for Environment, the Prime Minister and leaders of opposition are all vegetarians. This is not India where animal rights is enshrined in the Constitution and there are hundreds of animal welfare groups. This is not India where even the Dalai Lama has tutned vegetarian and banned chicken/meat shops in Dharamsala.

 

This is the heart of Europe 

 

She is not the odd person in Parliament : someone who is treated as a guest artist and provides the comedy. Thieme has been voted Political Talent of the Year by the Dutch parliamentary press and Most Influential Woman for Farmer’s Incomes by the leading Dutch magazine on agriculture. She writes in all the Dutch national and regional newspapers on factory farming, hunting, animal testing, bird flu, ritual slaughtering, fur, fisheries and vegetarianism. Here is what she has to say:

 

Q: How did the Party for the Animals get started? What contributed to the formation of the party?

 

A: On November 22 2006 a historical breakthrough was achieved in the struggle for animal rights. For the first time voters elected members of a Party for the Animals to a national parliament.With two seats, we achieved a victory acclaimed by champions for animal rights across the globe. Similar animal parties are being set up in other countries.

 

We are on the threshold of an unstoppable march towards giving animals a voice and a place in our legal system. This march is the result of a like-mindedness, which transcends status, political preference and religious belief, and allows everyone to contribute to the ending of this moral blind spot that has dominated our society for decades.

 

In the Netherlands , animal suffering is often hidden from view, or we simply do not want to acknowledge it. Each year in this country, millions of factory farmed animals are sent to slaughter after living short and miserable lives, and millions of minks are killed for their fur. More than a hundred thousand dogs and cats are dumped in shelters, and €500 million is spent on animal experimentation every year.

 

Q: What were your immediate goals and expectations as you formed the party?

 

A: During the mid-1990s, a favorable political climate for animals emerged. For the first time in history, there was a more or less animal-friendly majority in parliament. This came about as more progressive parties won power from the conservatives.

 

The Socialist Party, Green Left, the Labour Party D66 and the Christian Union formed an animal-friendly parliamentary majority. But the so-called animal friendly parties made it clear that not too much should be expected of them. The protection of animal rights featured in their party manifestos, but clearly was not a priority. Other parties managed to reverse and dismantle animal welfare policies in parliament. Animals became objects once again to eat and serve the economic purposes of people.

 

This is why a plan to set up a Party for the Animals was made in 2002. It was set up initially as a reminder to the parliamentary parties about the many good intentions set down in their manifestos and to speed up their implementation. We hoped that breathing down the necks of the existing parties would finally lead to justice being done for animals. This was essential at a time when the political and social agenda was dominated by issues such as security and integration, and standing up for animal rights was contemptuously regarded as a subversive activity that showed weakness rather than strength.

 

That the strategy worked became immediately evident when the plans for the party were launched and we were able to participate in the elections.

 

Overnight, Green Left set out its new top ten election priorities, which suddenly included animal welfare, while previously animal welfare did not even make it into the top 50. Other parties also jumped on the bandwagon after we established the Party for the Animals. They realized that animal welfare was becoming an increasingly important issue for the electorate. One party even wrote words into its election song letting people know that animals were more than just meat!

 

However it was only on the election night itself that people suddenly stopped laughing off our attempt to make a stand for animals. During the broadcast of the election results, to everyone's surprise it became clear that Party for the Animals had scored high! 

 

Our ambition to put animals on the agenda was achieved, but we had to go further. We knew that if the animal protectionists in the existing parliamentary parties could transform themselves into a group that was even half as fanatical and tenacious as the politicians that the factory farmers use to defend the interests of intensive farming, then it would not take long for the advantage to be decided in the favor of the animals. The Party for the Animal's role will be to continually stir things up in an intelligent and determined way. Until the time that animals are widely respected, we must continue to do everything in our power to ensure that we keep animal welfare at the top of the political agenda.

 

I assure you that standing up for animals does not mean that we are blind to other issues. In our manifesto we made 220 proposals for people, healthcare, the economy and housing aimed at achieving a better society. We want to work towards a society where animals and people get a better life. We are a new political movement based on compassion, durability and respect to man, animals, nature and environment. It is a fantastic experience to be part of a new movement that is not hindered by the existing political priorities, but instead consciously breaks through the framework. 

 

What has been her experience in the parliament been so far? Is she fighting for legitimacy? “ In the last debate on agriculture, 80% of the time was spent on animal welfare and animal rights for the first time in history. Does that answer your question? People from all backgrounds, including Christianity, are supporting the party. Which is the fastest-growing political party of the Netherlands . We are a secular party, so there is no religious approach in our message.” 

 

One of the achievements of the party is that the Netherlands may soon pass a law banning halal killing of animals – where the animal is killed by slashing its neck while conscious – something that is routine in India where the trade is run by Muslims. The bill is expected to go to a parliamentary vote this month. Most Dutch favor a ban.If the Netherlands does outlaw this procedure, it will be the first country outside New Zealand to do so in recent years and willjoin the Scandinavian, Baltic countries and Switzerland .

 

What I want to see in India is a party that stands for compassion towards all people, animals and environment. That promises the only things that matter: water for all without making rubbishy large useless dams, electricity for all using alternative energy, good health and good education by making it relevant. And no corruption. What a wonderful country this could be. While lots of decent people would love to make such a party, the problem is – are you ready to vote for your own wellbeing and freedom?