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Swiss animal welfare referendum dropped
The Swiss animal protection association has withdrawn its referendum on animal wlefare issues.
A broad-ranging initiative on animal welfare legislation which was introduced by Schweizer Tierschutz (STS), the main Swiss animal protection association, has now been withdrawn. The initiative contained provisions which would have banned animal experiments in the most severe category and required researchers to prove that they could not use non-animal methiods instead, when applying for animal research licences.
The main reason for the withdrawal is the new animal protection law brought in by the government in December. However, say the STS, they are far from happy with the new law, and are now launching a call for another referendum to institute an ‘animal protection lawyer’. They will start gathering signatures in support of this initiative in April.
Under Swiss law, if the signatures of 100,000 voters can be collected within 18 months, the issue must go to the Parliament.
“At present, when an animal is maltreated or tortured by its owner, there is no-one to defend its interests” said Lukas Berger of the STS legal department. This can lead to the wrong judgement being made and to delays or even a total blocking of justice in a particular case, he said.
The STS did not deny that their decision was a strategic one. By withdrawing the call for a referendum and instituting another, they will be able to bring pressure on the Swiss government to include some of the issues that had been dropped from the animal protection legislation. It is not yet known if their new initiative will include anything relating to animal research.