I recently received a very well put together pack from Vote Cruelty Free which asked me to pledge in support of a number of extremely sensible and desirable policies if I am elected to the European Parliament. You can read them in detail on their website.
So I signed their pledge and lo-and-behold I'm the first to have done so! So they very kindly press released it, I copy the text below. I'm currently being flooded with pledges and many are very good indeed. I particularly like to see ones where groups are working together to find a consensus position which politicians can then quickly move forward with once the elections are over.
Thank you and Vote Cruelty Free!
European election candidate to Vote Cruelty Free
Green Party South East region candidate, Cllr Jason Kitcat, has become the first person to pledge his support for Vote Cruelty Free, a new non-partisan coalition of animal protection organisations working to put animals on the political agenda.
The alliance has sent its manifesto to all candidates in the forthcoming European elections and asked them to show their support for the issues raised.
Cllr Kitcat said, “I am delighted to support the Vote Cruelty Free pledge. How we treat animals is a reflection of the state of our society. I believe that in this day and age we have a clear ethical duty to eliminate animal suffering wherever possible. This has always been a key Green policy and a strongly held personal view.”
Vote Cruelty Free comprises the BUAV, Compassion in World Farming, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), League Against Cruel Sports and Respect for Animals. It covers a broad range of animal welfare issues including wild and marine animals, animal experimentation, cruel sports, the fur trade and farming.
Vote Cruelty Free is urging all candidates to pledge their support for the initiative. Voters can track candidates who have signed up by visiting the website at http://www.votecrueltyfree.org.
Jason Kitcat 