Worldlog week 39 – 2013

Last Friday, I spoke with the Ambassador of Romania about the mass killing of stray dogs over there. I already told about that in my Worldlog of last week. I asked the Romanian government:

• to stop killing stray dogs and to go for sterilisation, identification and registration. I had a discussion about the Romanian Stray Dog Act, which is contrary to the EU law.
• to start an awareness campaign to teach people how to deal with animals responsibly to avoid aggression between humans and animals.
• to support the work of animal protectionists, both morally and financially. These days animal protectionists are often hindered and threatened. The Ambassador promised to speak with the active animal protection organisations to find out what is needed to address the stray animal issues in an animal-friendly way.
• Last but not least, I asked to take action against people who poison, mistreat and kill the stray dogs and breach European and Romanian law by doing so.

I hope that my meeting with the Ambassador will contribute to ending this barbaric animal mistreatment soon. To be continued…

Tuesday was Budget Day! Every year on the third Tuesday of September in the Netherlands, the Government’s plans and vision on the community are presented in a throne speech. It was the first time that this speech was given by our new King. The King is a fervent hunter and by wearing the suit of a reformed hunter I asked him to stop hunting because the majority of the Dutch people are against hunting. I also wanted to enforce my member’s bill against pleasure hunting. My suit has two chains on the front which were hung with hunting tokens, such as a horse and pictures of (still to be) hunted animals, flanked with broken little hunting guns. There were emblems on my hat and back showing a small scared-looking fox in front of the target.

Every year two million compatriots are shot dead for the enjoyment of a handful of hunters, among whom our King. And at least just as many animals get shot and are left behind with bullets in their body. The killing of animals just for fun should be forbidden, certainly since the great majority of the parliament and population reject this outdated hobby.

My colleague Esther wore a second-hand dress and a hair accessory made of recycled PET bottles. She wanted to draw attention for the plastic soup in our oceans.

Next to my dream for the King I also gave a Dream Speech. In my Dream Speech I discuss the new perspectives that are needed for our stuck economy. Below are a few fragments from my Dream Speech.

Fellow countrymen, despite these dark clouds I am an optimist. The deep pit that the traditional politics forced us into might make people realise that radical measures are needed to turn the tide. A new course will have to be taken. A course of respect. Respect for the borders of the earth and respect for the fellow occupants of our planet. Only by protecting the interest of the weakest against the right of the strongest, we can keep the earth livable.

The constant attention for the growth of the economy will have to give way to a healthy dosage of quality improvement of life and living environment. It’s a call for more, but not for more money, more growth or more consumption, but for more compassion, more sustainability, more animal welfare, more biodiversity, more happiness, more perspective, more trust. Polluters should no longer receive subsidies. Not through enormous agricultural subsidies from the EU, which swallow almost half of the European budget, and nor through subsidies on fossil fuels. Annually, we can save thousands of millions on this when we are prepared to leave the traditional thinking behind us.

I finished with the following sentence: You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one!

Greetings, Marianne