Wow, the Netherlands is one of the only countries in the world to have a political party for animal rights! The Partij voor de Dieren won two seats in Wednesday’s general election. Rather than being something to boast about, this sad state of affairs is likely to once again make the Netherlands a laughing stock abroad.

But actually it’s worse than that. It’s a sign that pampered, moralistic sectors of Dutch society – Marianne Thieme’s animal party had the high profile support of 20 Dutch VIPs plus a generous donor who paid for a lavish election campaign – have lost the plot. And have got their priorities very, very wrong.
But Thieme and her supporters aren’t the only ones. A recent radio campaign unashamedly appealed to listeners to give money for a retirement home for donkeys in the Third World!
Meanwhile, the Dutch statistics ofice CBS says 461,000 children in the Netherlands are living in poverty.
Of course factory farming is bad, of course organic food is nice. Especially if you can afford it. But surely pensioners, the sick, the unemployed and the undervalued (and we’re talking people now) should come first?
Remember what happened in George Orwell’s Animal Farm? All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. And they’re called people.
According to Wikipedia, Thieme published a book in 2004 in which she makes a link between the abolition of slavery the emancipation of women and animal rights. Enough said.