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.