VVD MP quits lobby group board over conflict of interest claims

VVD MP Renate den Hollander has resigned from the management board of a vets’ lobby group after facing questions about her role as the party’s spokesman on animal welfare.

NOS reported that some of Den Hollander’s comments in parliament were almost identical to statements made by the BPW, an organisation representing owners of veterinary practices.

Den Hollander, 49, spent 22 as a vet and ran her own practice in Drenthe before being elected to parliament for the first time last November. She was a member of the BPW before becoming an MP, but only joined the board this year.

NOS reported that her response to a report by the consumer markets watchdog ACM that criticised high vets’ bills and unnecessary procedures was strikingly similar to the BPW’s official line.

Den Hollander said the VVD did not share all the ACM’s criticisms, stressed the need for veterinary staff to be paid properly and suggested alternative solutions to deal with rising costs such as encouraging people to take out more insurance.

Identical language

Although she was not a member of the board at the time, Den Hollander used almost identical language to the BPW in its response, such as comparing vets to other business owners such as bakers and garage owners.

A month later she was taken on as a member of the management board with an allowance of €1,000 a year.

In a written reply to NOS, she said she was stepping down from the board with immediate effect after the national broadcaster compared her speech with the BPW’s statement.

“The similarities to a contribution I later made as an MP, which you have rightly asked questions about. have made me realise that my membership of the management board of the BPW could lead in future to (the appearance of) a conflict of interests,” she said.