More than 80% of all laying hens in Switzerland spend all their lives inside and never range in the open, according to critics of factory farming.
Keystone/Sven Kaestner
Voters will have the final say on a people’s initiative aimed at outlawing large-scale livestock production in Switzerland.
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الناخبون السويسريون يصوتون للحسم في حظر الإنتاج الحيواني على نطاق واسع
Campaigners on Tuesday submitted more than 100,000 signatures for their proposal forcing a nationwide ballot on the issue.
They argue that intensive animal farming is cruel and contributes to climate change, as well as hunger and water scarcity.
“Switzerland imports 1.2 million tonnes of animal feed every year to produce the necessary quantity of animal products,” said Vera Weber, president of the Franz Weber environmental foundation.
The allianceExternal link also criticised the conditions animals are held in intensive livestock farming.
“Fifty percent of all piglets raised in Switzerland are slaughtered without ever seeing the sky,” Meret Schneider of the animal rights think-tank Sentience Politics told the Swiss news agency, Keystone-SDA.
Parliament is due to discuss the initiative before the government sets a date for a nationwide vote on the issue.
The proposal is the latest in a series on Swiss agriculture. Last year, voters rejected an initiative to encourage farmers not to systematically de-horn their cows and goats.
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Cattle in the canton of Geneva and in the neighbouring region of Terre Sainte in the canton of Vaud are being vaccinated against the contagious viral skin nodule disease. The first cases of the animal disease were reported at the end of June in France, just outside Geneva.
Fewer attacks on Swiss ATMs but their future remains uncertain
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Bank ATMs in Switzerland are less prone to attacks by criminals, but their future remains uncertain given the less active use of cash by the population.
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A series of rockfalls occurred above the village of Brienz between 9 and 12 July. According to the municipality of Albula, the overall situation remains tense. Several people disregarded the ban on entering the area around the village.
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Arosa Bergbahnen achieved the highest figure in its 95-year history in the 2024/25 financial year with net revenue of CHF 37 million. Arosa Lenzerheide was able to capitalise on strengths such as snow reliability and the size of the ski area in a long winter season, the company announced on Thursday.
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Unknown perpetrators stole ceramic dental implants during a break-in at a company in Oensingen, northern Switzerland, on Tuesday night.
Euro 2025: Bern prepares for massive parade ahead of Switzerland-Spain game
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The last Euro 2025 match to be played in Bern, the quarterfinal between Spain and Switzerland at 9pm on Friday, promises to be a great celebration of football.
Clariant faces further ethylene price-fixing claim
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Swiss chemicals group Clariant is facing a further claim for damages in connection with ethylene price-fixing agreements.
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The Grande Dixence dam in Lower Valais is closed to visitors due to a rockfall last weekend. The nearby hotel also had to temporarily suspend operations for safety reasons.
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Future of farming at risk, says farmers’ association president
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Markus Ritter of the Swiss Farmers’ Association said on Monday that to meet agricultural demand, 43,000 working farms will still be needed by 2030.
Fewer Swiss farms and dairy cows, more egg-layers and goats
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Last year 768 farmers in Switzerland called it quits, while others increased their livestock numbers and production of organic food.
Farmers slam think tank report on the future of Swiss agriculture
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A report claiming that Swiss agricultural policy is too expensive and should be reformed, has been heavily criticised by the main farmers’ group.
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