Worldlog week 52 - 2013 - Main contents

Last week, I submitted a private member’s bill to drastically curtail hunting and shooting in the Netherlands. I want to have a ban imposed on hunting and shooting mallard, hare, rabbit, pheasant and wood pigeon as soon as possible. It would be wonderful if the bill were to be adopted by the Lower House of Dutch Parliament, as this season would then be the last hunting season for sport hunters. Every year, sport hunting causes extreme animal suffering. Parliamentary action is required now.

For this purpose, I submitted two motions: closing the hunt for these 5 species and incorporating a ban on sport hunting into law. Sport hunting has become outdated, fortunately, most Dutch people agree on that. Research has shown that only 3 per cent of Dutch people are of the opinion that fun is an acceptable reason for hunting, whereas 72 per cent of the population are of the opinion that hunting as a hobby should be banned.

Just before the Christmas recess, we also had a debate on transferring powers from the Netherlands to Brussels. This is a short fragment from my contribution.

The Prime Minister wants to transfer more powers to Europe. But since the people do not want that, it has to be done by way of salami tactics. My party cares little about salami, and even less about salami tactics. Neither does it care much about burying one’s head in the sand, while assuming that the 80-20 rule can be implemented successfully. 80% of people who explicitly refuse to accept something, while the other 20% continue undisturbed with unwanted plans that irreversibly harm our country’s sovereignty. Sovereignty is not the word of the year. Selfie is the word of the year. And that is precisely what politics are doing. Showing an interest in oneself while the people’s interests are bartered away and their worries ignored.

Several weeks ago, we voted against Dutch participation in the military mission in Mali. So far, military missions have focused on combating symptoms or extinguishing small fires. This has not led to solutions, not even to permanently extinguishing hot spots. We think we should learn from the outcomes of previous violent missions. Violence and disguised objectives are not in the interest of peace and security. Peace and security can be promoted by ways other than military missions. For example, it is very important to limit climate change to prevent future hot spots and flows of refugees.

I asked parliamentary questions following extreme violence against animals in the Gaza Strip. The Guardian wrote that Australian cattle are being severely brutalised in the Gaza Strip. Beware, the images are shocking.

I want to know whether Dutch live animals are also being exported to Gaza and, if so, whether this can be stopped with immediate effect.

Early January, I will travel to Portugal and Madeira to meet with our sister party PAN. During my visits, our documentary The Pacer in the Marathon will be shown in Lisbon and Madeira. It will most definitely be an inspiring meeting!

It is a pleasure to report that The Pacer in the Marathon has already been translated into 5 languages: English, Portuguese, French, Turkish and Russian. Have you not seen the documentary yet? You can watch it here.

This week, readers of The Economist were able to get acquainted with the Party for the Animals. Click here for the article on our party.

The next Worldlog will be published on 13 January. I wish everyone great and animal-friendly holidays and a prosperous 2014.

Marianne