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On January 10th the Animal Justice Party published their first Finnish general election platform with animal politics as the main theme. The party defines the founding values of its politics and activities as; sustainability, justice and life. This election platform brings animal politics for the first time to a national level in Finland.
The interests and individual needs of sentient beings should be taken into account in all decision making that substantially effects their living conditions. The fulfillment of species-typical needs is not enough. The issue should also be addressed on an individual level”, says the party chair Santeri Pienimäki.
The election platform of the Animal Justice Party has three animal political primary goals:
- The future is in plant-based production
- Every individual has intrinsic value
- Working towards an ethical animal relationship
To reach these goals, the Animal Justice Party proposes the following animal political changes to take place during the next parliamentary season:
- taxation is to be modified to favor consumption of plant-based products
- the VAT of plant-based products is to be lowered
- a Pigovian tax is to be implemented on animal-based food-items
- intervention purchasing of overproduced animal-based food-items is to be terminated immediately
- actions that promote the exportation of animal-based products to be abandoned
- a death coefficient is to be added to animal-based products
- the discontinuation of animal production is to be supported and discontinuing animal producers’ debts are pardoned
- the intrinsic value of an animal is to be introduced into legislation
- the fundamental rights of non-human animals are introduced into the Constitution of Finland – the process will be set in motion already during the next parliamentary season
- tie stall cattle barns and farrowing crates to be are banned
- keeping broilers is to be banned
- mandatory camera surveillance is immediately to be installed in all slaughterhouses
- the working conditions and work-based mental health issues of slaughterers are to be brought to attention
- the post of an Ombudsman for Animals is to be established
- fur farming is to be abolished immediately
It is not enough that products are taxed with climate emissions and animal welfare in mind. The prices of products that have cost animals their lives should mirror the deaths of these animals. This is what we call the death coefficient. Products could be split in e.g. three different tax categories. The highest tax rate would be for products from industries with the highest death rates and weakest possibilities for species-typical behavior. The lowest tax could include products with very little animal-based material and for which the welfare of the animals has been verified”, clarifies Tiina Ollila, who is in charge of the election platform working group.
The parliamentary election program has three additional primary goals outside of animal politics:
- A viable environment for future generations
- Dignity belongs to everyone
- A humane foreign and security policy
To achieve these goals the Animal Justice Party proposes, among other things, the following changes:
- flying is to be restricted
- tax benefits that are environmentally harmful are to be eliminated
- energy efficiency and environmental-friendliness of real estates is to be promoted by making renewable energy investments eligible for tax credits
- upper secondary education is to be made genuinely free of charge
- the basic income trial is to be expanded
- cutting paid employment working hours of different work fields is to be explored
- combining professional and family life is to be made easier
- the post of an Ombudsman for Senior citizens is to be established
- the Trans Law is to be renewed
- the legal recognition of non-binary gender
- the term “environmental refugee” is added to the definition of refugees
- the legal protection of asylum seekers during the processing of their applications is to be improved
- the NGO support for peace and human rights organizations is to be raised
- the yearly refugee quota is to be increased to at least the level of Sweden
- military service is to be made more selective, gender neutral, and voluntary
