Danish Vegan Party Is Set To Run For Parliament

Denmark's vegan party Veganerpartiet says it has enough support and is preparing to run in the next elections.

The party has reached the 20,182 declarations necessary for parties without sitting members of parliament to run for parliamentary seats in the next elections expected in 2023.

Veganerpartiet is calling for an end to "all livestock husbandry for human benefit" and warns other parties that it would be attacking them on their green credentials.

Spokesman Corvinius Olesen said: "You can't claim to be an environmentalist while supporting the farm industry or by eating meat or any other animal product."

According to a study by Norwegian non-profit EAT, animal agriculture is responsible for 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. 

Veganerpartiet was founded in 2018. The party's manifesto calls for the abolishment of livestock farming and talks about the three key issues: animal rights, public health and nature.

Non-vegans are allowed to join the party, but they are not allowed to vote. 

The party wrote on its website: "We will work for a better climate and environment, better public health, rights for animals, sound use of resources and to phase out human exploitation of animals."

Pro-animal parties exist in many European countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and Spain. 

Germany's V-Partei (for vegans and vegetarians) entered the 2017 Bundestag federal election race. 

Spanish vegan party Pacma (Partido Animalista Contra el Maltrato Animal), won over 1% of the vote in the 2019 national elections but has failed to win a seat. 

Portugal's PAN (People Animals Nature) won 3.3% of votes in the last elections (2019) and won four seats in the Portuguese parliament. The party has also won one place in European Parliament elections.

The Party for the Animals (Partij Voor de Dieren) in the Netherlands is the most successful among the animal welfare parties. It has five seats in the 150-member House of Representatives, two seats in Senate, twenty seats in the State Provincial councils and one MEP.

The UK's Animal Welfare Party was founded in 2006. Its main policies are: redirecting subsidies from livestock and fisheries farming to plant-based agriculture, promoting plant-based lifestyle initiatives in schools and the workplace and ending animal experimentation. In 2017, the party gained its first elected representative, re-elected in May 2019.