Worldlog Week 45 – 2011

The battery farming ban of1 January will still go into effect on 1 January! The Party for the Animals has foiled plans for the impending postponement on the battery cage ban. We have known for 12 years now that battery cages will be prohibited in Europe as of 1 January 2012. This entire time poultry farmers have known they need to adjust their business model to the new standards, but despite this fact some countries want a postponement. State Secretary Bleker also panned to argue for a six month reprieve for the Netherlands. Under the guidance of the Party for the Animals and the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), the Lower House blew the whistle on Bleker. He now has to go back to Europe against the proposal.

This week, the Party for the Animals also successfully protected ocean-based nature reserves. Every party in the Lower House supported our motion to remove obstacles from the Common Fisheries Policy in order to better protect ocean-based reserves. European member states that wish to set up ocean-based reserves in their waters can currently exclude native fishermen from these areas, but not fishermen from other member states. By accepting this motion, the Lower House is asking the government to make a case in Europe for a balanced arrangement that enables member states to remove all damaging activities from an ocean-based reserve.

During the debate this week on the feints surrounding the Dutch police mission in the Afghan province of Kunduz, the Party for the Animals once again stated that it does not support this mission. Even with Prime Minister Rutte's assurances, we have no faith in it.

The press focused heavily this week on a fictitious letter written by Esther Ouwehand. We deem Esther's actions to be highly successful. During the debate about the Public Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) budget, Esther read out a fictitious letter from Minister Schippers from VWS to State Secretary Bleker of Agriculture that stated 'I'm revolted by my own words'.

In the 'Dear Henk' letter we clearly showed how the State Secretary's agricultural policies dominate the Ministry of Public Health's interests and so heavily burdens our citizen’s health. Esther on the letter: “We imagine the Minister of Public Health explaining in fine detail to her colleague, the Minister of Agriculture, that it cannot go on like this. She must safeguard public health from pathogenic industrial agriculture, and it is high time for her to make it perfectly clear to Henk Bleker how things should be.”

An interesting and clear YouTube video about how the economic crisis came to be: ‘The crisis of credit’.

See you next week!