The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Night-time cowbell dispute keeps Swiss courts busy

Dispute over night-time cowbell ringing occupies the courts
Dispute over night-time cowbell ringing occupies the courts Keystone-SDA

The nocturnal ringing of the bells of cows on a nearby farm will continue to bother two landowners in canton Fribourg. The Federal Court has rejected their application for the bells to be taken off at night.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The two landowners brought an action before the civil court to have the bells removed from the animals on the pastures adjacent to their property between 10pm and 7am. They kept a noise diary and took noise measurements themselves.

The civil court partially approved their requests, but the Fribourg cantonal court overturned this decision. It referred the case back to the civil court so that a noise report could be drawn up. It refused to issue precautionary measures. This is the result of a ruling by the Federal Court published on Thursday.

+ Complaints spark wave of support for cowbells in Bern village

Correct preliminary decision

The opponents of the cowbells tried to have the precautionary measures ordered by the cantonal authorities during the ongoing proceedings before Switzerland’s highest court. Specifically, they wanted the bells to be removed from the animals at night.

+ Church bells must cut back at night in Swiss town

However, nothing will come of this. The Federal Court confirmed that the cantonal court had not violated the appellants’ right to be heard and had correctly assessed the “private noise report” they had prepared. There was therefore nothing to criticise about the rejection of precautionary measures.

For this decision, the two landowners represented by a lawyer have to pay court costs of CHF4,000 ($4,550) to the Federal Court.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

A live scarecrow competition to thrill Denens (VD)

More

Live scarecrow competition set to thrill Swiss

This content was published on The Fête de l'Epouvantail (scarecrow festival) is celebrating its 30th anniversary and returns to Denens in canton Vaud for its seventh edition from July 10-20.

Read more: Live scarecrow competition set to thrill Swiss
Man dies in accident on toboggan run in Matten near Interlaken BE

More

Man dies on Swiss toboggan run

This content was published on A 35-year-old man has died in a work accident at the valley station of the Heimwehfluh toboggan run in Matten near Interlaken, canton Bern.

Read more: Man dies on Swiss toboggan run
The Swiss embassy in Tehran reopens

More

Swiss embassy in Tehran re-opens

This content was published on The Swiss embassy in Tehran re-opened on Sunday after being closed on June 20 owing to the unstable situation in the country.

Read more: Swiss embassy in Tehran re-opens
Queen of the Netherlands attends European Championship match in Lucerne

More

Euro 2025: Dutch queen cheers on team in Lucerne

This content was published on Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and her youngest daughter Princess Ariane attended the Netherlands' women's European Championship football match against Wales in Switzerland on Saturday.

Read more: Euro 2025: Dutch queen cheers on team in Lucerne
30-year-old charged with drone flight at Women's European Championships

More

Man charged with flying drone at women’s Euro 2025

This content was published on A man flew a drone around the venue on Wednesday evening during the first match of the Women's EURO 2025 in St. Gallen. The 30-year-old violated the absolute ban on flying during match days. He was reported to the police.

Read more: Man charged with flying drone at women’s Euro 2025
257 Swiss companies are members of the SBTi

More

More than 250 Swiss companies sign CO2 reduction initiative

This content was published on A total of 257 companies from Switzerland have signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In doing so, they are committing to CO2 reduction targets that are compatible with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Read more: More than 250 Swiss companies sign CO2 reduction initiative

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR