 In October 2002 she and other animal protectionists founded the Party for the Animals ("Partij voor de Dieren", PvdD).During the general election of 2003 the party gained 47,754 votes (0.5%), but not a seat in the House of Representatives which is obtained by 0.67% of the vote.In February 2004 she was nominated to become the party's lijsttrekker for the 2004 European Parliament election.