Vegan Party Sprouts Onto Danish Political Scene

Copenhagen, Aug 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Aug, 2020 ) :Mainstream Danish political parties will have a new flank to defend in the next election, as a budding Vegan Party said it has the support needed to contest parliamentary seats.

Calling for an end to "all livestock husbandry for human benefit", Veganerpartiet spokesman Corvinius Olesen warned other parties that the outfit founded in 2018 would be attacking them on their green credentials.

"You can't claim to be an environmentalist while supporting the farm industry" or by eating meat or any other animal product, Olesen said.

A call to abolish livestock farming -- responsible for around 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, according to a recent study by Oslo-based charity EAT -- will be at the heart of the vegans' future election campaign.

A new vote is due for the Copenhagen parliament by 2023 at the latest.

"Just like the human race, all species have the right to live free" and not to "suffer", the Vegan Party says on its website.

Thursday marked the moment when the vegans gained the roughly 20,000 backers needed for parties without sitting members of parliament to contest the election.

"We hit our goal!" the group trumpeted in a Twitter post.

Spokesman Olesen said he was sure that the Vegan Party's very "existence in the political arena will create a debate" about its core issues.

It will now be up to Denmark's interior ministry to validate the group's claim to have the 20.109 backers needed to stand in the country of 5.5 million people.