Do the Swiss Take Animal Rights Too Far?

The Swiss people may love animals, including sharks that swim in the ocean. But they recently snubbed another breed of "sharks"-the ones who work in courtrooms. By a margin of more than two to one, the Swiss voted March 7 against a proposed new animal rights law that would have assigned lawyers to animals who are mistreated, as defined by Switzerland's own strict animal rights laws. By voting against this pioneering animal rights legislation, the Swiss elected not to join their fellow Swiss citizens in the Zurich "canton" (the Swiss version of an American "state") which has assigned a taxpayer-funded lawyer to wronged animals since 1992.

Although the lawyer for animals referendum did not pass in Switzerland, Swiss animal protection laws are among the strictest in the world. For instance, Swiss animal rights laws require dog owners to take a special class and pass an exam in order to adopt a dog and prohibit the keeping of a solitary parakeet, guinea pig and other animals who are deemed to have a high emotional need for companionship. The Swiss even have a law that prohibits the flushing of live goldfish down the toilet (acceptable mercy killing methods are whacking the fish on the head or immersing it in a solution of water, clove oil and alcohol).

Despite their animal loving nature, even the Swiss may have thought the lawyer for animals referendum went too far. A recent case in Zurich, the one canton in the country that has a law requiring a legal advocate for animals, involved a fisherman who had his picture published in the local paper showing off the whopping 22-pound pike he had caught. The proud fisherman boasted to the reporter it had taken him 10 minutes to land the fish, an interminable amount of time, according to a lawyer for the fish who argued in court that the fish "suffered unnecessarily" and that its "dignity" was damaged. (The case was ultimately thrown out of court-though only on a technicality.)

Although concerned with the rights of animals, the plight of plants has not escaped the rule-loving Swiss, whose frequent trips to the polls to pass new laws may be a sign they have become bored with running secret banks and making chocolate. The Swiss 2004 Gene Technology Law mandates that scientists take a plant's " dignity" into account when interfering with its natural reproduction, a law that could hamper creating hybridized rose bushes and convenience fruits, such as seedless watermelon.

For now, however, it is still legal for Swiss citizens to trample on grass or boil a carrot in water and eat it without worrying about hiring a lawyer.

Sources:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/switzerland/7394698/Swiss-voters-reject-lawyers-for-animals-in-referendum.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100307/ts_afp/switzerlandanimalabusereferendum_20100307171307
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-562025/Rule-loving-Swiss-force-pet-owners-animal-understanding-courses.html
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08042808.html
http://www.cannonlaw.net/library/a-crazy-but-true-fish-story-unfortunately.cfm