12 June 2011

The Party for Animals and Nature (Partido pelos Animais e pela Natureza--PAN) was only legally established last January and obtained already 57634 votes in the very first legislative election (5 June) they participated in.

PAN's main goal to reach 50 thousand votes was surpassed, which qualifies the party for government subvention and allows the possibility of transmitting its message to more and more people.

The party's second goal to send at least one representative to the national Parliament was missed by only 5000 votes at Lisbon district.

As a comparison, a similar party in the Netherlands, PvdD, which is nowadays represented by two MPs, only got 0,49% of the national votes at their first election while PAN got 1,04% as a debutant.

PAN is now also the second party without parliamentary representation.

The most important aspect is that PAN drew attention to issues such as animal rights, ecology and the impact of the carnivore diet on public health and the planet.