Mission Statement

At The Animal Protection Party we concur with the words of Alice Walker who said: The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. We also believe that in a democracy the ultimate power, and therefore the ultimate force for change, is the ballot box. History has proven this time and again. To this end, The Animal Protection Party will campaign to end the suffering, abuse and exploitation of all animals using the framework of the British electoral system.

'Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as crazy, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.'

Jack Kerouac

Introduction

We are a new political party which aims to simultaneously represent the interests of people and non-human animals, a party that isn’t frightened to speak the truth and a party that wants to see real change rather than just be seen to want it. We hope that you will be as excited as we are about the future and will give us your support in our fight for a better system of true equality. Politicians have been allowed to get too comfortable in the cosy world of party politics. All that is about to change.

At The Animal Protection Party, we hold that the concepts of human and animal rights are complementary to each other. We feel that belief in one does not contradict the other – rather that there is an interconnection between the two. Most political parties tag an animal rights agenda onto the end of their manifesto, hoping no doubt to get a few extra votes. Even the parties that profess to expound an animal rights agenda seem apologetic when they do so and water down the animal rights message, in the belief that the undiluted version is too radical for the public.

At The Animal Protection Party, we believe this is an approach that is doomed to failure. We are proud to stand up for a way of life that makes ethical sense while providing us with the solutions to a system that at its present rate of expansion is globally unsustainable. We will not apologise for what we believe in, nor will we water down our beliefs. We believe that the public have a right to know the truth. We believe that the public have the right to make their own decisions and should be treated as equals - not as pawns to be used in the political end game.

The challenge to any government is to have the courage to refuse to be answerable to multinationals that hold the world to ransom for the sake of increasing their profits. The challenge to any government is to stop being taken in by the lies of profit and to face up to the fact that they exist to serve the people, not serve the wishes of a rich elite.

The Animal Protection Party is preparing to challenge and to fight in the political arena, to adapt to the changing legal landscape and to test the strength of the measures now in force to prevent the dissemination of the truth. At The Animal Protection Party, we want no part in the three-party hegemony: instead we intend to subvert it. This isn’t about winning seats either. We know that would be very difficult given the current unfair nature of the British ‘first past the post’ political system. But it’s the very unfairness of the system that will give us our power.

We intend to stand against incumbent MPs who are outspokenly anti-animal, as well as those with small majorities. We do not intend to stand in every area, but in specific targeted seats. In real terms, all we need to do is lose some of these people their seats in order to gain genuine political influence and move human and animal rights to the top of the political agenda.

We believe there has never been a better time to do this. People are tired of traditional party politics. Let’s face it, whichever party it is, they promise the world and deliver nothing, which is why voter apathy is now so prevalent. The Animal Protection Party want to reinvigorate the electoral system, taking on the politicians in their own constituencies and letting them know: there really is nowhere for them to hide. If they promise the electorate something and they don’t deliver or if politicians are misusing their positions in order to promote corporate business, then The Animal Protection Party aim to be there to hold them to account.

The Animal Protection Party. The new face of green politics.