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Party for the Animals Partij voor de Dieren | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PvdD |
| Leader | Esther Ouwehand |
| Chairman | Zwanny Naber |
| Leader in theSenate | Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers[a] |
| Leader in theHouse of Representatives | Esther Ouwehand |
| Leader in theEuropean Parliament | Anja Hazekamp |
| Founders | Marianne Thieme Ton Dekker Lieke Keller |
| Founded | 28 October 2002 (2002-10-28) |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam |
| Youth wing | PINK! |
| Think tank | Nicolaas G. Pierson foundation |
| Membership(January 2025) |  31,648[1] |
| Ideology | Animal rights[2] Animal welfare[3] Anti-capitalism[4] Environmentalism[3] |
| Political position | Left-wing[5] tofar-left[6] |
| European affiliation | Animal Politics EU |
| European Parliament group | The Left in the European Parliament |
| Colours | Dark green |
| Senate[a] | 1 / 75 |
| House of Representatives | 3 / 150 |
| Provincial councils | 26 / 572 |
| European Parliament | 1 / 31 |
| Website | |
| partijvoordedieren.nl www.partyfortheanimals.nl | |
TheParty for the Animals (Dutch:Partij voor de Dieren[pɑrˈtɛivoːrdəˈdiːrə(n)],PvdD) is apolitical party in theNetherlands. Among its main goals areanimal rights andanimal welfare.[3] The PvdD was founded in 2002 as asingle-issue party for animal rights, opposing animal cruelty and the treatment of animals in agriculture. The party then developed into a left-wing, ecological party.[7]
Since 2019, the PvdD's political leader isEsther Ouwehand. With 2.08% of the votes at the2025 general election, the PvdD holds three of the 150House of Representatives's seats. In theSenate, it has three of the 75 seats. PvdD holds 26 States-Provincial seats across all provinces. In theEuropean Parliament, it has one of the 31 seats allocated to theNetherlands constituency.
TheFirst Balkenende cabinet was more hostile to animal welfare than the precedingSecond Kok cabinet: it scrapped plans to banmink farming, relaxed restrictions on hunting, and postponed regulations onfactory farming.[8]: 70 Cabinet partyPim Fortuyn List (LPF) pushed for these changes; Lieke Keller, director of the anti-fur farming organisationBont voor Dieren [nl] (Bont for animals), interpreted these acts as trying to "get even" with activists following theassassination of Pim Fortuyn by environmental and animal rights activistVolkert van der Graaf.[9] Despite their past support for animal welfare,GroenLinks and theSocialist Party did not vocally oppose the cabinet's animal policy.[8]: 70 The cabinet was described as having rolled back 20 years of animal welfare progress.[10] When a snap election was announced on 21 October 2002, Keller spoke with her colleagueMarianne Thieme and suggested starting a party dedicated to animal rights. Thieme responded that she didn't believe insingle-issue parties, but changed her mind on 24 October during a protest againstseal hunting: "It's about an entire group of inhabitants being ignored, that's not a single issue".[9] Thus, the Party for the Animals was founded and registered on 28 October 2002. The media did not pay attention to this, as it was focused on the LPF's internal struggles.[9]
In the lead-up to the2003 Dutch general election, the party faced the challenge of selecting a suitable lead candidate. While co-founder Lieke Keller was a natural candidate to lead, her existing role as director of Bont voor Dieren, and her extensive political contacts, made her unsuitable for front-line candidacy. To preserve ongoing lobbying efforts, Keller stepped back, and her colleagueMarianne Thieme—a relatively unknown but committed figure—was selected as spokesperson. The party initially sought a celebrity to head the electoral list, but when this proved unfeasible, Thieme was put forward. Some founders saw the effort as a publicity stunt rather than a serious political bid.Niko Koffeman, who had previously overseen campaigns for theSocialist Party, nonetheless took an active role, shaping the party's program and advising on media outreach. As media attention grew, notably following an interview inHet Parool on 6 December 2002, Thieme's public profile grew. The campaign relied on securing free publicity.[11]
The PvdD's campaign focused on a cluster of settlements in South Holland:Leiden,Warmond,Voorschoten,Oegstgeest,Jacobswoude andHillegom.[12] Despite modest resources, the party secured several hundred members and operated on a total budget of €30,000—two-thirds of which came fromhotelier Irene Visser. This was spent primarily on posters and flyers.[13]: 87 However, an administrative error led to a significant setback: The PvdD's candidate list for Overijssel was submitted 40 minutes past the legal deadline, and although the documents had been faxed earlier, the Electoral Council and the Council of State both upheld the disqualification. As a result, the party was barred from competing in the province. Thieme criticized the ruling as excessively rigid and suggested that the presence of established parties within the Council of State might discourage political newcomers.[14]
When votes were counted, the PvdD came just short of winning a parliamentary seat. Initial projections by most major media outlets showed the party below the threshold, though a Radio 1 forecast briefly placed it at one seat. Ultimately, the party received 47,754 votes—just 518 votes below the threshold for parliamentary representation. This narrow margin raised questions about whether participation in Overijssel might have altered the result.[13]: 88 Despite the disappointment, the party issued a statement expressing optimism, noting that such voter support was achieved with minimal resources, media exposure, and preparation. Party officials framed the outcome as evidence of latent public backing for a political movement grounded in animal liberation.[15] While the PvdD missed entering parliament, it nonetheless outperformedLivable Netherlands (LN), which lost both its seats after securing just 38,856 votes.[16]
Although initially considered atestimonial party, a party which does not seek to gain political power but to testify its beliefs and thereby influence other parties, the party signaled its willingness to enter a coalition government in 2021.[17][18] The party today is a part of the governing coalitions in the municipalities ofAlmere,Arnhem andGroningen.[19]
The electoral breakthrough for the PvdD occurred at the2004 European elections. The party won 3.22% of the votes (153.432 votes), not enough to win a seat, but a sharp improvement compared to their 2003 result. In2006 the party won their first seats in the Tweede Kamer, withMarianne Thieme andEsther Ouwehand being elected to parliament. The party gained a lot of attention due to a number of prominentlijstduwers, such asPaul Cliteur,Maarten 't Hart,Kees van Kooten,Rudy Kousbroek,Georgina Verbaan andJan Wolkers.
The Party won nine seats in eightprovinces in the2007 Dutch provincial elections, securing one seat in theEerste Kamer. In 2010, the party won representation on the local councils ofAmsterdam,Rotterdam,Utrecht,Arnhem,Gouda,Vlagtwedde andPijnacker-Nootdorp; this meant that the PvdD secured representation on every level of government in the Netherlands.
In consequent elections, the electoral support for the PvdD remained relatively stable, winning two seats in the Tweede Kamer in2010 and2012. In2014, the party won representation to the European parliament and joined theEuropean United Left-Nordic Green Left parliamentary group.
In2017, the party gained its best result to date, winning five seats in the Tweede Kamer. On 16 July 2019Femke Merel van Kooten split from the PvdDcaucus and continued as anindependent member of parliament. The reason for the split was that Van Kooten criticized the narrow political focus of the party, which in her opinion focused too much onecology andanimal rights.[20]
On 8 October 2019, founder and longtime leaderMarianne Thieme retired from the leadership and the Tweede Kamer.Esther Ouwehand succeeded Thieme as parliamentary leader, andEva van Esch replaced her as a member of parliament. She was previously a city council woman inUtrecht.
Their main aim is to improve the life of animals and nature as a whole. They see the constant emphasis on economic growth as one of the main reasons for the lack of animal rights and is to blame for the state that nature currently is in.[21] They want animal rights to be enshrined in the constitution. It is firmly on the left side of the political spectrum, considered an either a left-wing[5] or a far-left party.[6]
The party has also have widened its scope to more than just animal rights, for example sustainability, healthcare, housing and more. It also strives for a shorter workweek and for auniversal basic income.[22] The economical demands of the party include a "radical greening" (Dutch:radicale vergroening) of the economy.[23]
The Party for the Animals opposes capitalism and calls for a different economic system; this is combined with the party's support ofdegrowth, writing: "growth does not bring the solution but the problems" and "growth is an untenable concept on a globe that does not grow with it."[4] It was also described as socialist.[24] The party fields anti-capitalist candidates, such as the radical economistEwald Engelen,[25] as well as Wesley Pechler, who calls for "an inclusive, green and anti-capitalistGroningen" on the party's website.[26] Conversely, in its program, the party argues that the neoliberal economic policies are destructive and a "system change" is needed in order to build a more inclusive and equal society.[27]
After joining the party, Engelen promoted thebioregionalist aspect of the party, writing: "the Party for the Animals is the only party that has the nerve to say that Amsterdam should shrink, instead of grow. The Party for the Animals is the only one that courageously resists the massive lobby of the coalition of the municipality, big business,Rai andSchiphol. All the others dance along to that seductive tune of growth, growth, growth." He also remarked: "Instead of fixing these marketing images in stone for eternity, we would do well to preserve what is characteristic of the Netherlands: its beautiful medium-sized provincial cities. Good for the quality of life, good for the air quality, good for animals and good for nature."[28]
Other proposals of the party include:[27]
PINK! is theyouth wing of the PvdD.[29] It was established on 12 September 2006, and has slightly over 2,000 members (2021 figure).[30] The name is derived from the Dutch word for a cow that is older than a calf, but not yet fully mature.[31] The current chairperson is Bob Steenmeijer, who succeeded Manuela Rot in 2024.[32]
The Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation is the research department of the PvdD. Founded in 2007, it is named after Niek Pierson, a Dutch economist and an earlypolitical donor of the party.
Initially founded as Euro Animal 7,Animal Politics EU is an informal grouping of animal rights based political parties within theEuropean Union. Animal Politics EU has member parties in theNetherlands,Belgium,Cyprus,France,Germany,Italy,Portugal,Sweden andSpain. The group currently has oneMEP:Anja Hazekamp of the PvdD.Martin Buschmann for theTierschutzpartei was formerly an MEP in this group but is no longer as of 2020.
The electorate of the PvdD consists in majority of women (estimated at 70%) living in urban areas.[33] In 2023 the party achieved its best results inAmsterdam (11.5%),Arnhem (8.8%),Bergen (8.3%),Haarlem (9.8%),Nijmegen (9.3%),Schiermonnikoog (9%) andZutphen (8.7%).[34] The party has lowest support in rural areas with large agricultural industries, such as in theBible belt. It is supported by many organic farmers, and positions itself as a farmer's party which wants to free farmers from the big agricultural companies and their lobbyists, and help farmers transition to organic farming.
The PvdD has the largest proportion ofvegan/vegetarian voters of any political party in the Netherlands, with 17.3% or 27.9% of PvdD voters in saying in two surveys in 2021 that they did not eat meat. The party with the second-highest proportion of vegan/vegetarian voters in both surveys wasGroenLinks, for which the share laid at 8.4% or 16.9%.[35][36][37]
In 2021, a survey byKatholiek Nieuwsblad found that Catholic voters make up greater share of the PvdD's electorate than those of denominationally Christian parties such asCDA,ChristenUnie andSGP.[38] According to the Nieuwsblad's survey, Catholic voters tend to avoid denominationally Protestant or interconfessional parties and vote for strictly Catholic or secular ones in greater numbers instead. The newspaper also claimed that the voting behaviour of the PvdD and theSP is remarkably often in line with the moral views of the Catholic Church, and that "the social teachings of the Church are more progressive than is often thought".[38] The former leader of the party,Marianne Thieme, often made appeals to Christian voters.[39]
| Election | Lead candidate | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Marianne Thieme | List | 47,754 | 0.49 | 0 / 150 | New | Opposition |
| 2006 | List | 179,988 | 1.83 | 2 / 150 | 2 | Opposition | |
| 2010 | List | 122,317 | 1.30 | 2 / 150 |  0 | Opposition | |
| 2012 | List | 182,162 | 1.93 | 2 / 150 | 0 | Opposition | |
| 2017 | List | 335,214 | 3.19 | 5 / 150 | 3 | Opposition | |
| 2021 | Esther Ouwehand | List | 399,750 | 3.84 | 6 / 150 | 1 | Opposition |
| 2023 | List | 235,148 | 2.25 | 3 / 150 |  3 | Opposition | |
| 2025 | List | 219,371 | 2.08 | 3 / 150 | 0 | TBA |
| Election | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | List | 3,366 | 2.06 | 1 / 75 | New |
| 2011 | List | 2,177 | 1.06 | 1 / 75 | |
| 2015 | List | 6,073 | 3.16 | 2 / 75 | 1 |
| 2019 | List | 6,550 | 3.78 | 3 / 75 | 1 |
| 2023 | List | 8,560 | 4.78 | 3 / 75 | 0 |
| Election | List | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | List | 153,432 | 3.22 | 0 / 27 | New | – |
| 2009 | List | 157,735 | 3.46 | 0 / 25 | 0 | |
0 / 26 | 0 | |||||
| 2014 | List | 200,254 | 4.21 | 1 / 26 | 1 | GUE/NGL |
| 2019 | List | 220,938 | 4.02 | 1 / 26 | | |
1 / 29 | 0 | |||||
| 2024 | List | 281,600 | 4.52 | 1 / 31 | 0 | The Left |
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007[40] | 144,132 | 2.55 | 9 / 564 | |
| 2011[41] | 131,231 | 1.88 | 7 / 566 | 2 |
| 2015[42] | 210,113 | 3.46 | 18 / 570 | 11 |
| 2019[43] | 317,103 | 4.36 | 20 / 570 | 2 |
| 2023[44] | 359.804 | 4.7 | 26 / 572 | 6 |
At the2022 Dutch municipal elections, the PvdD won 63 seats, gaining representation in 29 municipalities. Party-wise, they have the most seats (4) inLeiden,Nijmegen andGroningen.[45]
The MEPs of the Party for the Animals are part of theEuropean United Left–Nordic Green Left Group in the European parliament.
Nu moet gezegd: de Partij voor de Dieren is ook moeilijk in het politieke landschap te lokaliseren. Vanwege haar activisme en haar antikapitalisme wordt ze in de publieke opinie doorgaans met links geassocieerd.[Now it must be said: the Party for the Animals is also difficult to locate in the political landscape. Because of its activism and anti-capitalism, it is usually associated with the left in public opinion.]
Jur Faber, an avuncular man with a white moustache and reading glasses, who represented the left-wing Party for the Animals, which campaigns for animal rights, had the floor.
Players who voted for the right-wing parties PVV and VVD donate the least, players who voted for the left-wing PvdD and SP, but also those who voted for the Christian-democratic CDA give the most to other players.
The far right PVV and far left Party for the Animals in Groningen called for a recount of the provincial council election votes, but Groningen mayor Peter den Oudsten has denied their request.
In keeping with their political positions, they were lined up on stage from left to right: PvdD on the far left, JA21 on the far right.
  European Parliament, Netherlands | |
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| Delegations | |
| Elections | |
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| Former parties | |
