Swiss residents have the ability to make monumental change, as the country votes on a proposal that could end factory farming.
Switzerland will hold a public vote next week on whether to ban factory farming.
The move follows an online petition calling for the abolishment of intensive livestock farming – which garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
In Switzerland, any petition that exceeds the 100,000 milestone automatically has the right to be voted on under federal government law within 18 months.
On 25 September, citizens will finally be able to cast their vote.
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‘Systemically harms the welfare of animals’
“The initiative wants to make protecting the dignity of farm animals such as cattle, chickens or pigs a constitutional requirement,” the proposal states.
“It also aims to ban factory farming because it systematically harms the welfare of animals. The federal government would have to set stricter minimum requirements for animal-friendly housing and care, access to the outdoors, slaughtering practices and the maximum group size per pen.
“These requirements would have to meet the Bio Suisse standards for 2018 as a minimum, and all farms would have to comply with the new rules in their animal husbandry.”
The initiate adds that these requirements would also apply to animals and animal products that are imported into the country.
Switzerland’s animal welfare
While Switzerland prides itself on its ‘strict’ animal welfare laws, some of the country’s victories aren’t all they seem.
In 2019, Switzerland banned the live shredding of chicks – a common practice to cull males species unwated by the egg industry.
However, an estimated three million male chicks are gassed to death annually in Switzerland and continue to be killed in the cruel manner.
The Vegan Society’s Dominika Piasecka told Plant Based News: “Gassing and shredding someone to death both sound like the most horrendous ways to die, and by buying and consuming eggs customers are directly contributing to this awful practice.”
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Featured image credit: Agnormark via Getty Images
