New bill seeks to end fur farming, stop the use of animals in circuses and limit religious slaughter.
It was a concern for animal rights that finally forced Poland’s de facto leader Jarosław Kaczyński to overcome his aversion to social media.
The 71-year-old chairman of Poland’s ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, known both for his love for cats and his technophobia, made an unprecedented appearance on TikTok on Saturday to show his support for a new bill that bans farming animals for fur.
Last week, PiS presented its five-point bill to protect animal rights. This includes a ban on fur farming and the use of animals for entertainment (in circuses, for example), limits on ritual slaughter, boosting the remits of green groups and improving the quality of living conditions for domestic pets.
Read more
Animal rights bill threatens to break Poland’s ruling coalition
The animal rights protection law, which also looks to put limits on religious slaughter, passed in the Sejm on Thursday night but mainly thanks to the votes of the opposition
Animal welfare is close to the heart of PiS kingpin Kaczyński, but the issue is splitting parties on the right.
Poland’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party risks losing control over the country’s ruling coalition thanks to an unexpected dispute over an animal rights bill.
The animal rights bill, which seeks to ban fur farming and the use of animals in circuses, lies close to the heart of PiS’s cat-loving leader Jarosław Kaczyński but threatens to undermine Warsaw’s governing right-wing coalition.
Poland’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party risks losing control over the country’s ruling coalition thanks to an unexpected dispute over an animal rights bill.
The animal rights bill, which seeks to ban fur farming and the use of animals in circuses, lies close to the heart of PiS’s cat-loving leader Jarosław Kaczyński but threatens to undermine Warsaw’s governing right-wing coalition.about:blank
Many in the conservative camp say that the ban would affect the entire agricultural sector and they do not want to alienate core rural constituencies.
This new legislation that could hit farming communities has also exacerbated other splits in the right-wing bloc about issues such as gay rights, abortion and the rule of law.
PiS currently holds a majority in the Sejm, the lower chamber of the Polish parliament, thanks to a coalition called Zjednoczona Prawica, or United Right, formed with the radical right-wing Solidarna Polska and more center-right Porozumienie.
Read more
The bill in full [in Polish]:
http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/Druki9ka.nsf/Projekty/9-020-248-2020/$file/9-020-248-2020.pdf
