Courage, Non-Violence, Equality
Party for Animal Welfare is an Irish political party and
pressure group dedicated to ending the suffering, abuse, and
exploitation of nonhuman animals through information,
education, and advocacy. We seek to abolish the use and
exploitation of animals for human interests, rather than
simply reforming or improving the conditions under which
animals are used and exploited. We believe that animals are
morally entitled to pursue their lives free of human
violence according to the needs of their species and should
be free from coerced physical and psychological suffering.
We are a new political party who have come together to help
create a better world for all animals. Animal welfare and
rights have been neglected for too long, with profit and
tradition always put first. Our aims include banning animal
testing (vivisection) all blood sports, banning fur farming,
ending the greyhound racing industry, closing down puppy
farms and bringing an end to factory and intensive farming
and live export of animals.
We value ethical and intellectual courage in our campaigns
and causes. Independence, honesty and perseverance are all
elements in this commitment to courage. Our words and
actions are consistent with our stated values and we show
integrity in the commitments we make.
We work towards a violence-free society for all animals,
both human and nonhuman. We believe we can continue to
achieve our goals through practicing non-violence and
compassion for all and that positive change comes about from
connection, communication, and education. Violence is
defined as any form of assault, whether it is physical,
verbal, emotional, or spiritual, on another human or
non-human animal. Verbal violence is defined as language
that is insulting, degrading, prejudicial, or judgmental.
We are committed to focus or projects on sustainable change:
We focus on the committed, steady long-term work that will
bring about real and lasting change for animals. We
recognize and welcome the wide diversity of our members and
supporters. We accept people at all stages in their journey
towards a compassionate life, recognizing that awareness is
an on-going process.
We reach out to other organizations seeking to end
oppression in any form, such as racism, sexism, and
xenophobia and will not tolerate these behaviours within our
organization. We care for and respect each other and
ourselves. An openness to that which may be different, a
commitment to pluralism, and a strong sense of justice are
important to our sense of community. We follow a consensus
model of decision-making and value the opinions of our
members.
We create opportunities for leadership and responsibility
among our existing and new members. We strive for
transparency in all Party endeavours.
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