Comment on animal welfare scandal – No alibi exercise, please!The Federal Council must, finally, present handy solutions, as he wants to prevent cruelty to animals in livestock husbandry.Opinion Stefan Häne19 Kommentare19Videoaufnahmen of animal right’s activists show how pigs suffer on farms. Confined space conditions can cause animals to attack each other.Photo: animal focus

There are disturbing shots, published by animal rights activists (read the report). The image of the happy pig, which bring us the meat industry, not so glossed, but blatantly misleading. Even if in the past, similar abuses have come to light: It is unclear how large is the extent of the misery. There are relatively few pet owners who defile the Image of an entire industry? Or the Problem goes deeper?

The answer to that is politically significant. Animal rights activists criticise, neither Constitution nor laws were pigs and other farm animals is sufficient to guarantee protection. Also there is a lack of staff to enforce the rules. There is a need for more and unannounced inspections. The policy has taken these words of warning for a long time little serious.

But times are changing. With the popular initiative “No to mass animal husbandry in Switzerland”, have animal rights activists carried the issue into the political Ring – a challenge to animal husbandry, which represents the economic efficiency over animal welfare. No later than 25 years after the entry into force of the new laws, all of the farm animals in Switzerland are to be kept at least according to the Bio-Suisse guidelines in 2018.

With any other animal welfare scandal, the chances of the popular initiative to get off at the ballot box.

recordings of ailing pigs make it easier to fight the people’s desire. This is even more than the population of an animal’s welfare at heart, as polls show. The Federal Council knows that. The Initiative itself is him too far; but he wants to promote, in a direct counter-proposal to the animal welfare regardless of the size.

What this means in Detail is still unclear. A first opportunity for an adequate response to the popular initiative has missed the Federal Council in his message to the new agricultural policy, starting in 2022. He does well to present no alibi proposal. With each additional animal welfare scandal, the chances of the popular initiative to get off at the ballot box.

comments please Log in to comment