Elections
Richard Deboo marks the start of the 2010 General Elections campaign
2010 General Elections – Ensuring an animal-friendly outcome
During the next General Elections, which will probably be held on 6 May 2010, Animals Count will stand in a closely-contested constituency in London. Like many voters, we are concerned about animal welfare and believe therefore that it is a very positive move for Animals Count to present these issues on the political stage to the electorate.
Animals Count recognises the value of co-operation and dialogue in the political arena and would not wish to stand against an incumbent MP with a positive stance and policy commitments on animal welfare issues and would indeed actively encourage voters to support genuine animal-friendly candidates. At the same time, of course, Animals Count has a responsibility to make representation to the electorate where a candidate has a poor or negative position on these matters.
Animals Count has approached candidates in several selected constituencies to gauge their support for animal protection issues. We hope to have some leverage before and after the elections to influence the candidates to adopt more animal issues in their policies.
THANK YOU FOR VOTING ANIMALS COUNT ON 4TH JUNE
Good election result: 13,201 votes in the Eastern region
Animals Count is pleased with the election result of 13,201 votes in the Eastern region, which placed us ahead of two other parties and an Independent candidate. We did not campaign in Norfolk and with limited resources we reached less than 10% of the electorate. The number of votes would have been much higher had we been able to reach everyone. We would like to thank all volunteers and sponsors who have helped make our campaign successful!
9 June 2009
Guardian 4 June: What are the chances for Animals Count?
2 June: Jasmijn de Boo and Richard Deboo on campaign trail in Suffolk
EastEnders actor Nicholas Ball features in feel-good politics video clip
On 1st June EastEnders actor Nicholas Ball (famous for his role as Hazell in the seventies) got the ball rolling for Animals Count. He joined candidates Jasmijn de Boo and Richard Deboo on a trip to Towerhill Stables Animal Sanctuary in Asheldham, Essex, where cows and goats went to the polling station rather than the milking station. The BBC reported this story today in their article Party promises voice for animals.
One of Animals Count’s policies includes government funding for sanctuaries and animal rescue and rehabilitation organisations.
Mr Ball commented: “I am totally disenchanted with all three major parties. Not only from the human perspective, particularly with regard to recent events, but also, and I believe equally importantly, regarding the rights of all the animals with whom we share existence on this planet.
I applaud the aims and ideals of Animals Count, and in particular the idea of supporting animal rescue organisations, such as Towherhill Stables Animal Sanctuary, which depends completely on donations from the public. The abandonment of animals by society represents a moral blind spot.”
2 June 2009
31 May 2009
Manifesto: Because better animal protection requires a European solution
Today Animals Count released its manifesto which, we believe, contains the strongest policies on animal protection of any party contesting the EU elections, combined with solid policies on the environment and other social issues.
The manifesto contains the strongest policies on animal protection of any party contesting the EU elections, combined with solid policies on the environment and other social issues. Other parties have presented not much more than what’s written on the back of an envelope; how will this inform people and inspire confidence in voters? Or demonstrate that candidates are prepared to become an MEP?
Animals Count is different; integrity can be found in selfless people, those who defend the interests of vulnerable beings, those that are not in politics to advance their personal careers. Animals Count will be the voice for the voiceless in the EU, where billions of animals suffer at the hands of people. Our policies are evidence-based and will benefit animals, people and the environment.
24 May 2009
Animals Count first in Eastern region
On 7 May, Animals Count leader Jasmijn de Boo, running mate Alex Bourke and activist Richard Deboo became official candidates for Animals Count in the EU election on 4th June in the Eastern region. Not only are we first listed, out of 14 parties and one independent candidate, Jasmijn de Boo is the only female lead candidate. The Eastern region has been betrayed by some MEPs, one of whom has been arrested for fraud. Animals Count will set things right for animals, people and the environment.
Because the EU elections use a proportional representation voting system, every vote counts, so miss de Boo could be the first UK MEP that stands up for the most forgotten and vulnerable beings in society; the animals!
10 May 2009
EastEnders actor Nicholas Ball kicks off Animals Count’s EU election campaign
EastEnders actor Nicholas Ball backed Animals Count’s EU election campaign yesterday during its successful launch in the Royal Horticultural Halls in London. For the first time in UK history, a political party primarily dedicated to protecting the interests of animals will contest the European Parliament elections, in the Eastern region (Herts, Beds, Cambs, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex). The EU elections will take place on 4th June. Animals Count hopes to end farming with poor welfare consequences, long distance animal transport, all hunting for sport, and introduce an EU-wide subsidised basic animal health care system.
During the last few months Animals Count has been raising funds and holding meetings to plan for the EU elections. As part of the EU election regulations, we will have a free mail-out of our election leaflet. We can reach one household for just over one penny; for £13 we can print an extra 1,000 leaflets. This is a one-off opportunity to reach so many people so cheaply. We’re looking to raise more funds in order to print 500,000 leaflets. The Vegan Three Peaks Challenge on 2-3 May aims to raise several thousands of pounds toward this aim. Please sponsor one of the three intrepid climbers.
19 April 2009
More about the candidates:
Animals Count co-founder, Jasmijn de Boo, MSc, is an animal welfare scientist and experienced teacher with 17 years working in animal protection. She was a candidate for the Dutch Party for the Animals, which received over 153,000 votes in the 2004 EU elections.
Miss de Boo hopes to build on the May 2008 London Assembly Elections, when she received nearly 2,000 votes in the Lambeth/Southwark constituency (when 10,000 leaflets were handed out, so 1 in 5 people voted for Animals Count).
“One of the first things I would be pressing for is a subsidised basic animal health care system for animals so people can give their companion animals the healthcare they deserve without having to pay high vet fees in today’s harsh economic climate.”
Alex Bourke, Animals Count’s vice-chair, has a degree in mathematics, a masters in computer systems, and was formerly a chartered engineer working for multinationals before setting up a publishing company in 1998 to produce vegan travel guides.
Mr Bourke was a Vegan Society Trustee from 1994-2007 and is experienced in explaining animal and vegetarian issues as a public speaker in the media.
Mr Bourke does not believe in the politics of left and right. He believes in consensus, getting at the truth of issues, and negotiating a way forward where everyone gains. He also speaks four EC languages and Russian.
Richard Deboo, Animals Count activist, is a highly skilled and motivated professional who has been working in The City.
Mr Deboo would like to take the message of Animals Count to the wider electorate and believes we represent a clear distinction from the failed policies of the main political parties. The electorate are dissatisfied and are searching for alternatives.
Mr Deboo is an excellent public speaker on complex and important topics such as the environment, climate change, farming methods, vivisection, and the philosophy and ethics of animal rights.
> All candidates have been vegan, and before turning vegan, vegetarian, for over 25 years. Environmentalists and animal protection leaders who continue to eat meat are not practicing what they preach.
> Other parties will adopt animal policies if they see a high number of votes going to Animals Count, so animals are helped even if we don’t win a seat this time, so every vote really does count!
Get involved in the EU election campaign!
Read our EU 2009 manifesto
Show your support for real action for animals at the EU political level. Click here to find out how you can help.
Revised EU Directive for protection of lab animals watered down
The recent vote by MEPs on the revised EU Directive on animal experimentation (86/609/EEC) to allow severe and prolonged suffering of animals used in research and testing, is a recent example of how badly a party for people and animals is needed in the EU. Prior to the vote, Animals Count President Andrew Knight had sent a letter to almost 100 MEPs, outlining the poor utility of animal experimentation for human clinical and toxicological outcomes. Unfortunately, it seems that the MEPs were heavily briefed by the pharmaceutical and animal research industry.
On 4th June vote for Animals Count in the Eastern region. Because better animal protection requires a European solution!
17 April 2009
Why the European Parliament elections are important:
- The majority of British laws originate from Brussels, and the fate of many British animals is decided in the EU. The European Parliament (EP) is the most important level of policy- and decision-making for Britain
- About 80% of the EU agenda is occupied by, and half of the EU budget is spent on, agriculture, particularly the intensive animal farming industry. This is extremely environmentally damaging, frequently cruel to animals, exploitative of workers and wasteful
- Thousands of wild animal species are threatened with extinction worldwide, due to habitat loss, hunting, global warming and other disasters caused by humans. Many more suffer in the lucrative illegal wildlife trade. Europe needs a comprehensive action plan to reverse these trends
- Hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats and other companion animals are neglected and abandoned across Europe each year. Many are left on the streets of EU member states, forced to fend for themselves. Responsible pet ownership, subsidised basic animal health care, and effective and humane stray animal management should be introduced in the EU
- Many other issues require urgent policy and legislative changes, including animal use in research, testing and education; animals cruelly kept and killed for the fur industry; and the harmful use of animals in entertainment (such as bullfights, sponsored with EU funds)
Animals Count co-founder and leader, Jasmijn de Boo MSc, is an animal welfare scientist and experienced teacher, with 17 years working in animal protection. She was a candidate for the Dutch Party for the Animals, which received over 153,000 votes in the 2004 European Parliament elections. The Dutch Party now has 20 elected representatives, including two MPs and one Senator. We believe that UK voters are at least as compassionate about animals.
Please help us give animals a voice in the next European Parliament!
Please vote for Animals Count on 4th June
7 March 2009
2009 European Parliamentary elections
Building on the success of the May 2008 London Assembly Elections, when Animals Count received nearly 2,000 votes in the Lambeth/Southwark constituency, we are now aiming to contest the European Parliament elections on 4th June 2009. A total of 72 Members of the European Parliament (EP) will be elected in the UK, and Animals Count aims to contest at least one region.
The EP elections are of utmost importance for animals and the environment. Many EU Directives, Conventions and other regulations determine policy relating to animals, and have implications for UK legislation. For example, the EU recently announced a ban on seal products. The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies and trade regulations have a huge effect on billions of farmed animals, and long distance transport of livestock is cruel and unnecessary.
The EU often sets policy based on the lowest common denominator, while the UK is usually more progressive than other European countries in terms of animal protection. The Lisbon Treaty, for example, which has not yet been ratified by most EU Member States, allows for practices that respect cultural and traditional views. This means that bullfighting and other cruel animal practices are condoned. Animals Count wants this article to be amended. There can be no exceptions for animal cruelty as “entertainment” in small pockets of the EC because “it has always been this way.”
During the coming months Animals Count will be preparing for the EP elections. The Dutch political Party for the Animals is very likely to win one or two seats in the European Parliament. We hope to achieve similar success so that we can work together in the EU to improve billions of animals’ lives, not only in the UK, but across Europe, and put an end to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) squandering half the EU budget subsidising cruel, unhealthy animal foods.
Read our letter (1.5MB) for more information and contact us if you want to help in any way. Thank you very much in advance for your support. Animals Count; they count on you!
7 November, 2008
London Assembly elections: 1,828 votes for Animals Count
in Lambeth and Southwark
Jasmijn de Boo received 1,828 votes (1.12% of the total votes) in the London Assembly elections for Lambeth and Southwark. This was more than the Socialist Party had received.
Jasmijn de Boo commented: “I am proud of our result. We are a new party and there were nine other candidates people could choose from. We had a small campaign with an even smaller budget. In a sense we are comparable to independent candidates in other constituencies, which typically received around 700 votes.”
“Under the first-past-the-post-system people tend to vote strategically rather than for their preferred candidate, if they don’t think their candidate has a realistic chance of election. Our result demonstrates that nearly 2,000 people in this constituency alone care so much about animal issues that they overcame their wish to vote strategically. I am confident we will grow and that the European Parliament elections in 2009 offer a real opportunity for Animals Count.”
The London Elections have been a learning experience, it brought our members closer together and inspired many others. We will start preparing for the European Parliament elections soon.
Thanks again to everyone who helped during the election campaign! It was worth it!
If you are interested in helping, please contact us or come to our next meeting.
3 May, 2008
We managed to hand out 10,000 leaflets all over Lambeth and Southwark, most of them during the past couple of days. Thanks a lot to all the volunteers who have helped! Watch this space for the results…
Meet our team and get an impression of our Party for the Animals hosted on 26th April (click here for photos).
2 May, 2008
London Elections manifesto “In London Animals Count too”
With over eight million inhabitants, London is one of the largest cities in Western Europe, and has the largest population of companion animals within the UK.
For over a million London households, companion animals are virtually part of the family, yet many struggle with the costs of veterinary care.
Millions of voters consider the poor treatment of farm animals and animal experimentation to be important issues, which the government tries to ignore.
Habitat destruction, through human encroachment, environmental fragmentation, pollution and global warming, results in a struggle for survival, for many wild animals within greater London.
We believe that London should take the lead on animal protection within the UK, and indeed, worldwide.
Animals Count’s main aims for the 2008 London elections include:
- Establishing a basic animal health care system comparable to the NHS, including the provision of subsidised veterinary treatment and emergency care
- Providing healthy food within schools, hospitals, care homes, and council premises, by promoting plant-based diets and banning products from intensively farmed animals
- Preservation and expansion of parks and green corridors, facilitating green recreation and wildlife protection
Additional aims include:
- Developing an Animal Protection Unit within the London Assembly ‘Policy and Partnerships’ Directorate, which would be responsible for policy, research and animal welfare education, at all levels
- Strengthening the current Mayor’s Animal Welfare Framework policies, and expediting their implementation
- Introducing Animal Protection (inspection) Officers within each London Borough
- Cracking down on dog fighting and related offences
- Encouraging social housing corporations and private owners to allow pets within rental properties
- A comprehensive strategy for implementing best welfare standards within London city farms
- A freeze on the granting of animal research licenses within London laboratories; critical scrutiny of the costs and benefits of existing animal research
- Making London a leader for state-of-the-art non-animal research methods
- Expansion of London’s Wildlife Crime Unit
Our full manifesto can be downloaded here.
14 April, 2008
The BBC reports: “Animals party eyes City Hall seat”
The political campaign for the London elections is picking up speed. Dozens of volunteers are helping by distributing leaflets, coming to the photo shoot on 12th April at 10.30am near the London Eye, and helping at the ‘Party for the Animals’ event on 26th April in Kennington Park.
While other political parties pay lip service to animal welfare, we are the only party that takes animal issues to the top of the political agenda.
Jasmijn de Boo comments: “With more than half of London households sharing their lives with a companion animal, responsible pet ownership and the difficulties some face when affording pet care, are not marginal issues. We want to strengthen and implement the mayor’s animal welfare framework strategy. We’ll be a watchdog on all animal issues.”
11 April, 2008
Jasmijn de Boo, MSc, founder of the new political party Animals Count, will run in the Greater London Assembly Elections on 1st of May as a constituency candidate for Lambeth and Southwark (London Elects website).
Download the London Elections leaflet here (1.8MB)
“MP’s receive more letters about animal issues than anything other,” says Jasmijn. “However, other political parties barely mention animals in their manifestos. For millions of people, companion animals are like a family member, yet many struggle with the costs of veterinary care. For millions more the treatment of farm and lab animals is an important issue which the government tries to ignore.”
Animals Count’s main aims for these elections include:
- The establishment of a basic animal health care system comparable to the NHS, including subsidised veterinary treatment and emergency care
- Healthy food provision in schools, hospitals, care homes, and council premises, by promoting plant-based diets and banning products from intensively farmed animals
- Green recreation and wildlife protection through preservation and expansion of parks and green corridors
Jasmijn, who has a master’s degree in animal welfare, has worked in the field of humane education for eight years. Before making south London her home in 2004, she was a European Parliament election candidate for the Dutch political Party for the Animals, Europe’s fastest growing political party, which now has two MP’s and one senator in the Dutch parliament.
“Prior to the success of the Party for the Animals in the Netherlands,” she continues, “bigger parties scrambled to be seen to support new laws to protect animals from cruel treatment. Animals are now high on the Dutch political agenda, where they should be, reflecting their importance to millions of voters.”
Seeing the need for a similar party in the UK, the greatest nation of animal lovers in the world, Jasmijn and a core group of supporters launched Animals Count just over a year ago on BBC tv.
Similar political parties for animals also now exist in Spain, Germany, France and Canada.
“Animals Count aims to be part of the next big development in European politics,” concludes Jasmijn. “We want to make London the world’s leading city for animal protection.”
PLEASE NOTE: fielding candidates and campaigning is costly and we therefore appeal to you to support us generously. Alternatively, please help with distributing leaflets, contacting people, displaying posters etc. For more details, see the Events page. Animals count on you!
6 April, 2008
Other political activism
You can help animals by writing to your MP or MEP to ask them to sign petitions. Current Early Day Motions (EDM’s) and new EDM’s on animal issues can be found here
