Animal Protection Party Tierschutzpartei | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Chairpersons | Paula López Vicente, Marcel Krohn, Robert Gabel |
| Founded | 13 February 1993 |
| Headquarters | Schreiersgrüner Str. 5 08233Treuen |
| Membership(2024) | 2,400[1] |
| Ideology | Animal rights Animal welfare Environmentalism Veganism[1] |
| Political position | Left-wing[2] |
| European affiliation | Animal Politics EU |
| European Parliament group | The Left in the European Parliament[3] |
| Colours | Teal |
| Bundestag | 0 / 630 |
| State Parliaments | 0 / 1,855 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 96 |
| Website | |
| tierschutzpartei.de | |
TheHuman Environment Animal Protection Party (German:Partei Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz,PMUT; short form:Animal Protection Party, German:Tierschutzpartei) is apolitical party inGermany, founded in 1993. In 2014, the party elected oneMEP to theEuropean Parliament, and it has remained at one MEP since. Between 2020 and 2024, the party was briefly unrepresented in the European Parliament due to the resignation ofMartin Buschmann. The party has never had any members in any of the German state parliaments, nor has it ever had any members of theBundestag.
The Animal Protection Party first contested the1993 Hamburg state election and received 0.3% of the vote.[4] The party contested the1994 federal election where it received 0.15% of the national vote (71,643 votes in total).[5] It performed best in Bavaria, where it received 0.4% of the vote.[6]
In the1995 North Rhine-Westphalia state election, the party received 0.1% of the vote. In the1996 Baden-Württemberg state election, the party received 0.3% of the vote. In 1997, the party elected its first ever official, with Jürgen Gerlach defeating aCDU candidate in theAschbach local council elections.[6]
In the1998 federal election, the party received 0.27% of the national vote (133,832 votes in total), almost doubling its votes. It did best in Brandenburg, where it received 0.9% of the vote.[7]
The Animal Protection Party participated in its firstEuropean parliament elections in 1999, where it received 0.7% of the national vote.[8]
In the2002 federal election, the party received 0.33% of the national vote (159,655 votes in total).[6][9]
In the2004 European parliament elections, the Animal Protection Party received by far its best federal result yet, receiving 1.3% of the national vote and coming 8th in the elections.[6][10]
In the2005 federal election, the Animal Protection Party received 0.2% of the national vote (110,603 votes in total), showing its trend of consistently overperforming in European parliament elections and underperforming in federal elections.[11]
In the2009 European parliament elections, the Animal Protection Party received 1.1% of the national vote (289,694 votes in total). The party continued to receive 0 seats.[12]
In the2009 federal election, the Animal Protection Party received 0.5% of the national vote (230,872 votes in total).[13]
In the2013 federal election, the Animal Protection Party received 0.3% of the national vote (140,366 votes in total).[14]
In the2014 European parliament elections, the Animal Protection Party received 1.25% of the national vote (366,303 votes in total) and returned oneMEP,Stefan Eck, who sat with theGUE-NGL.[15] In December 2014 Eck left the party and became an independent MEP in the GUE-NGL group.
In the2017 federal election, the Animal Protection Party received 0.8% of the national vote (374,179 votes in total).[16]
In the2019 European parliament elections, the Animal Protection Party received 1.45% of the national vote (541,984 votes in total) and returned one MEP,Martin Buschmann.[17] Buschmann resigned from the party in February 2020 after it was revealed that from 1992 to 1996 he was a member of and a chairman in the far-rightNational Democratic Party of Germany (NPD).[18]
In the2021 federal election, the Animal Protection Party received 1.5% of the national vote (675,353 votes in total), which is the best result in a federal election since the party has been founded.[19]
The party took an anti-war position towards the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing that neither NATO or EU should "develop into a military global player", and condemning the militaristic and anti-Russian rhetoric. The party condemns the Russian invasion, but states that the European Union also bears responsibility for it. It supports a complete ban on arms exports to areas outside the EU, and argues that the EU should be forbidden from direct or indirect participation in foreign military actions, listing the wars in Middle East, Turkish conflict with Syrian and Iraqi Kurdish areas, as well as "the heated up conflict in Kosovo and also to the war in Ukraine" as examples. The Animal Protection Party also calls for dialogue with Russia and China, and believes that the Russian invasion should not lead to breakdown of diplomatic relations.[20]
Sebastian Everding was elected for the party in the2024 European Parliament election in Germany.[21]
The party holds 37 seats in municipality and county assemblies[22] and one seat in the Bezirkstag Oberbayern.[23]
The Animal Protection Party is considered a left-wing political party, as part of theAnimal Politics EU alliance. It is a member ofThe Left in the European Parliament, the furthest left group in the European Parliament. Its platform can be considered asleft-liberal,environmentalist andpacifist.[24]
The party aspires to turn away from theanthropocentric view of life. The party calls for an independent animal protection officer for each federal state.[24] Its main goal is the introduction of moreanimal rights into theGerman constitution. Those include the right to live and the protection from physical and psychological damages. Thus, the Animal Protection Party demands prohibition ofanimal testing,bullfighting,hunting, the production offurs,circusanimals and agriculturalanimal husbandry. Furthermore, the party supports the adaptation of Germans toveganism.[25]
The Animal Protection Party wants a reduction of cartraffic and an immediate exit fromnuclear energy.[25] The party calls for the “consistent use of renewable energies” and the phase-out of coal-fired power generation by 2030. Furthermore, the party also supports an EU-wide switch to 100% renewable energies by 2035.[26] To strengthen climate protection, the party supports a ban on disposable electronic cigarettes, more consistent avoidance of plastic waste, including through fixed quotas for recyclable plastics.
Economically, the Animal Protection Party supports more social justice, a stamp duty and a freebasic income.[25] The Animal Protection Party supports equal rights for theLGBTQ community,[27] and supports aeuthanasia system similar to theNetherlands.[28] On foreign policy, the party opposes a European army and backs a pacifism clause in theEU treaty.[24]
| Election | Constituency | Party list | Seats | +/– | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| 1994 | 71,643 | 0.2 (#11) | 0 / 672 | Extra-parliamentary | |||
| 1998 | 1,734 | 0.0 (#30) | 133,832 | 0.3 (#11) | 0 / 669 |  0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2002 | 8,858 | 0.0 (#15) | 159,655 | 0.3 (#10) | 0 / 603 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2005 | 7,341 | 0.0 (#15) | 110,603 | 0.2 (#11) | 0 / 614 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2009 | 16,887 | 0.0 (#16) | 230,872 | 0.5 (#9) | 0 / 622 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2013 | 4,437 | 0.0 (#20) | 140,366 | 0.3 (#11) | 0 / 630 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2017 | 22,917 | 0.1 (#15) | 374,179 | 0.8 (#10) | 0 / 709 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2021 | 160,863 | 0.4 (#11) | 673,669 | 1.5 (#9) | 0 / 736 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| 2025 | 82,485 | 0.17 (#12) | 482,032 | 0.97 (#10) | 0 / 630 | 0 | Extra-parliamentary |
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 185,186 | 0.68 (#8) | 0 / 99 | New | – |
| 2004 | 331,388 | 1.29 (#8) | 0 / 99 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 289,694 | 1.10 (#9) | 0 / 99 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 366,598 | 1.25 (#10) | 1 / 96 |  1 | GUE/NGL |
| 2019 | 542,226 | 1.45 (#10) | 1 / 96 | 0 | The Left |
| 2024 | 570,498 | 1.43 (#12) | 1 / 96 | 0 |
Martin Buschmann of the small left-wing Animal Protection Party has apologized following revelations he once was a member of Germany's ultranationalist NPD party.
(in German)