New pacifist animal party enters race for Tweede Kamer

A second political party focused on animal rights will contest the October Tweede Kamer elections, as the newly founded Vrede voor Dieren ("Peace for Animals") positions itself as both an animal advocacy and pacifist movement, NRC reported.

The party, chaired by former Limburg provincial legislator Pascale Plusquin (51), officially registered with the Kiesraad and will present its candidate list before the September 15 deadline. A formal election platform was released Monday.

“Anyone who stands for animals, nature, and the environment, in our view, must be completely opposed to rearmament,” Plusquin told NRC.

She emphasized that the party opposes the current militarization trend in Europe and promotes nonviolence in governance, education, and international affairs. “Violence-free policy must take a more central place in public awareness,” she added.

Vrede voor Dieren distinguishes itself sharply from the established Partij voor de Dieren (PvdD). While both oppose industrial farming and animal testing, Vrede voor Dieren rejects any increase in defense spending, even amid perceived threats from Russia. Military interventions, the party argues, should only be supported with a mandate from the United Nations.

The party also calls for a climate benchmark of 1.5 degrees Celsius to be used in evaluating the national budget, and says the focus in geopolitics should shift away from humans to “all voiceless animals.”

According to Plusquin, the party's founding is a direct response to the PvdD’s June decision to support the European rearmament program ReArm Europe. A narrow majority of PvdD members voted in favor of aligning with the party’s parliamentary faction, which now backs the initiative. PvdD leader Esther Ouwehand defended that stance at the time, saying, “Without a free constitutional state, we cannot fight for climate and nature.”

“That was a breaking point,” Plusquin told NRC. “The PvdD was unique in that it elevated the interests of non-humans and firmly opposed militarization. Earlier this year, that pacifist foundation was dropped. Many people told us they still want to resist the arms race. Normally, you would switch to another party — but in this case, none existed yet.”

Plusquin previously stood ninth on the PvdD’s national list in 2023 and served over eight years in the Limburg States. The Vrede voor Dieren board also includes Annemarie van Gelder, former chair of the PvdD’s Friesland chapter, and Jurgen Suurmeijer, until recently a member of the PvdD Advisory Council.

Despite some overlap in ideology and personnel, Plusquin insisted that prominent critics of the PvdD's new direction are not involved in founding the new party. That includes party co-founder Marianne Thieme and Eerste Kamer member Niko Koffeman, both of whom vocally opposed the PvdD’s new defense policy. Likewise, the two former Rotterdam city council members who left the PvdD earlier this year, including former party chair Ruud van der Velden, are not part of the initiative.

Plusquin confirmed that board members will not appear on the Vrede voor Dieren candidate list. “We have people in mind, but we’re also waiting to see who steps forward in the coming weeks,” she told NRC.

Asked whether the party’s initials — VvD — might cause confusion with the liberal VVD, Plusquin dismissed the concern: “We don’t use an abbreviation.”

Although the new party emerged from a policy break with the PvdD, Plusquin said it is not designed to compete directly with her former party. “I have no personal conflict with Esther Ouwehand or with the PvdD,” she said. Instead, Vrede voor Dieren will focus criticism on the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), which it blames for harmful agriculture policies and contributing to the nitrogen crisis.

“The nitrogen issue must be addressed urgently,” said Plusquin, “but we also need to tackle other forms of pollution and the widespread animal suffering in the agricultural sector.”

The PvdD saw its national representation shrink from six to three seats in the 2023 elections, following a period of internal conflict that saw Ouwehand clash with the party’s former board. While earlier polling had suggested up to eleven seats, current projections put the party at four to six seats.

Plusquin said Vrede voor Dieren sees its role in the short term as that of a driving force. “We’re not aiming to be a governing party right now,” she told the newspaper. “But we are convinced that there is enough support for Vrede voor Dieren.”