“We Are The Majority” - Says New Animal Party
MEDIA RELEASE
“We Are The Majority” - Says New
Animal Party
A bold new political party that will unveil serious failings with the animal welfare policies of the two main political parties is being launched today. The Party for the Animals is New Zealand’s first party that truly represents animals and it says it intends to make animal welfare an election issue.
“We are the majority, and we are here to make real change!” says party spokes-animal Mr Sparky. “Our new party is giving humans the chance to give we animals real representation.”
“There are over 140 million farmed animals upon which this country’s economy depends, most of them raised in barren, factory-farm conditions,” Mr Sparky says. “In a true MMP system we should have representation,” he says. “If we could vote it would change the outcome of the election.”
The Party will field four list candidates and campaign on a platform of four main policies. Factory farming is the number one issue that “is the prime example of humankind’s inhumanity to animalkind,” says Mr Sparky.
Party leader, Ms Grandma, has had personal experience of battery cages. “Three million of we hens suffer a living caged-nightmare, each with less space than an A4 piece of paper. This is simply to provide humans with ‘cheap-as’ eggs. It’s not good enough!” says Ms Grandma.
“The government is continually saying ‘animal welfare is a high priority’, but we say this is cow manure! It looks likely cages will remain, in some form, far into the future and we must stand up and fight against this,” she adds.
“New Zealand is our home, too. We outnumber New Zealanders by nearly fifty to one but right now, millions of us are suffering inside factory farms and laboratories or being held captive for use in the racing and entertainment industries,” says Mr Sparky.
“We need voters to think of us on 26 November. Please help us – vote for a better future for us all.”
POLITICAL SURVEY ON ANIMAL WELFARE
The
Party for the Animals wishes to thank advocacy group SAFE,
who has conducted an election survey to ask the human
parties where they stand on animal welfare.
The survey reveals serious shortfalls within the main parties.
“We feel National and Labour are letting animals down, especially factory-farmed animals. If elected, both parties are likely to continue to allow cages for hens, which is simply unacceptable,” says SAFE campaign director Eliot Pryor.
“SAFE is very happy to see the Party for the Animals launched,” says Mr Pryor. “SAFE has always been ‘the voice for all animals’ but we can now let the animals stand up and speak for themselves. We support the Party for the Animals 100 per cent.”
PARTY LAUNCH
TODAY
Party for the Animals will officially launch at
11am today (7 November) in Western Park on Ponsonby
Road.
The launch will be marked by the erection of the
first party hoarding and billboard.
For more information contact SAFE campaign director Eliot Pryor at: 021 189 9226
NOTES FOR EDITOR
Results of the survey can
be found at:
http://safe.org.nz/Campaigns/Politics-and-animals/
The Party for the Animals information at: http://www.voteanimals.org.nz
ANIMAL PARTY
POLICY
The Animal Party is standing on four main policy
initiatives.
1) Stop factory farming: it's about the
animals.
Millions of us animals, such as the hens that
lay eggs in battery cages, continue to suffer in dark sheds
far away from any help. While many more of you people are
choosing cruelty-free products in the supermarket,
politicians continue to drag their feet. Although battery
cages will one day be phased out, cruel colony cages are
poised to become the new cage for hens.
Ban battery cages
as soon as possible and let's stop colony cages! Hens have
suffered too long.
2) Establish a Ministry of Animal
Welfare: it's about the animals.
At present, animal
welfare is the job of the Minister of Agriculture. But since
the Minister has to look after the industries first, the
laws are made first for the benefit of the farmer-people,
scientist-people, and business-people; not for the animals
themselves. If there was to be a ‘Ministry of Animal
Welfare', with the task of looking after our needs as
animals, then we would be playing on a more level playing
field. It's hard to believe there isn't one already!
3)
Recognise animals are sentient beings
A wise person in
the nineteenth century, Jeremy Bentham, made the observation
'the question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they
talk?" but "Can they suffer?'. It needs to be recognised in
all legislation affecting animals that we are sentient
beings, can experience pleasure and pain, and can
suffer.
As you may know from sharing time with companion animals, all of us have strong personalities, form bonds with our young, and can experience pain. Animals have the right to live their lives free from avoidable suffering at the hands of humans.
4) What's for dinner? It's about the
animals.
New Zealanders have a high consumption of
animals and animal products. The truth is that meat and
dairy products are not necessary, or necessarily good for
you, and definitely not good for us, the animals! Even if
you're not vegetarian or vegan, simply cutting down
consumption will limit animal
suffering
Candidates
MRS GRANDMA, Party
leader
Mrs Grandma is an old hen at eight years of age,
having escaped the certain death all farmed hens face at the
age of 18 months. Mrs Grandma loves to run around throughout
the day, digging up worms and scratching in the grass for
seeds.
Mrs Grandma now works to raise awareness of the plight of battery hens.
• There are three million layer
hens producing eggs, living in barren cages.
• They
live on average 18 months, standing on wire, and some are
debeaked.
• As part of the current Code review, battery
cages are proposed to be phased out over the next 15 years,
but equally cruel colony cages would replace them.
•
There are 90 million chickens raised for meat in factory
farming conditions.
MR SPARKY, Party
spokes-animal
Mr Sparky is a young calf, who was caught
in an electric fence injuring his leg, but is rehabilitating
well. He's one of the lucky ones - a male calf not sent off
for veal at five days of age.
Mr Sparky is concerned with the welfare for all species, but has special responsibility to speak out on behalf of cows being worked in the dairy industry.
• Dairy is an intensive industry that puts
severe stress on the bodies of cows to produce as much milk
as possible.
• Cubicle cow farms are being
introduced.
• About a third of farms use induction, the
practice of aborting healthy cows early in order for the
herd to start milking at the same time.
MS ROSIE,
Party list candidate
Ms Rosie had a hard start to life
when her original family abandoned her in a field, but feels
that it was nothing compared to pigs living in factory
farming conditions.
While happy that sow crates are being phased out, Ms Rosie wants to make a difference for the pigs sentenced to a life of suffering in farrowing crates and concrete fattening pens.
• Around 800,000 pigs are
farmed and killed each year in New Zealand.
• While sow
crates are to be phased out over the next four years,
farrowing crates will still be allowed for sows that have
given birth.
• Piglets are kept in barren ‘fattening
pens' to raise them to slaughter age.
MS NELLIE ,
Party list candidate
Ms Nellie was, until recently,
leading a typical goat-life, chained alone on the roadside
to keep the grass down. Since gaining her freedom she has
dedicated the rest of her days to working for others,
especially on issues concerning all companion
animals.
• The demand for pet store animals supports a
breeding industry that results in large numbers of animals
being needlessly killed.
• Puppy mills exist in New
Zealand to produce ‘designer dogs' such as
‘labradoodles'.
• In New Zealand, tethered goats lead
to more complaints to MAF and the SPCA than any other
animal.
ENDS