Denmark is set to have a new contender in future elections in the form of the vegan party, which says it now has enough support to run for parliamentary seats.
ADVERTISEMENTDenmark is set to have a new contender in future elections in the form of the vegan party, which says it now has enough support to run for parliamentary seats.
Veganerpartiet spokesman Corvinius Olesen has called for an end to "all livestock husbandry for human benefit" and warned other parties that the herbivore group 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.
The party, founded in 2018, reached the 20,182 declarations needed on Thursday for parties without sitting members of parliament to contest the election.
Denmark’s interior ministry will now decide whether or not to validate the group’s claim to have the backers needed to stand for parliament.
A parliamentary election isn't expected until 2023.
A call to abolish livestock farming will be central to the party's manifesto.
"We will work for a better climate and environment, better public health, rights for animals, sound use of resources and to phase out human exploitation of animals," it says on its website.
Livestock farming is responsible for around 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, according to a recent study by Oslo-based charity EAT.
While Green parties have sprouted across Europe there are few vegan parties.
But Denmark is not the only country in the bloc to have one.
Germany's V-Partei³ – Party for Change, Vegetarians and Vegans entered the 2017 Bundestag federal election race. But it did not rank high enough to score any seats, taking only 0.10% of votes.