New Swiss laws enter into force on February 1

Retailers say they want to pass on the reduction in the target price of milk to their customers. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Milk prices in Switzerland will fall from February. The criteria for blood donations will be relaxed. A smartphone ban will be introduced in schools in the Jura region and lynx will be captured for canton Graubünden. These and other changes will come into force in February.

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MILK PRICE: The A-price for dairy milk will fall by CHF0.04 to CHF0.78 ($1) per kilogram in February. This is partly because there is currently too much milk on the Swiss market. More is being produced than can be processed. On the other hand, the price of milk is falling worldwide. This in turn is putting pressure on the Swiss milk price. Retailers say they want to pass on the reduction in the target price to their customers and are planning advertising campaigns.

BLOOD DONATION: The criteria for blood donation in Switzerland will be relaxed from February 1. People who have had a blood transfusion, spent a long period of time in the United Kingdom or undergone certain medical procedures will be allowed to donate again, according to the Swiss Red Cross Blood Donation Service. Regardless of the country where a blood transfusion took place, a four-month waiting period after each transfusion will now apply.

According to Blood Donation SRC, people who spent a long time in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s will be allowed to donate blood again. For neurosurgical procedures, a waiting period of one year applies, provided the procedure was performed in Switzerland. People who have had a dental implant in Switzerland since 1993 will also be allowed to donate blood again. According to Blood Donation SRC, the previous rules had been in place for over 20 years. They were introduced at the time due to the risk of transmission of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease variant through blood. At the end of the last century, there was an increased risk of infection in the UK.

LYNX: Hunting authorities in the Jura are starting a campaign to capture lynx. After three lynx were accidentally shot last year, the authorities in Graubünden are releasing two new lynx. One is to be captured in the Jura and one in Romania or Slovakia in 2028. The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) approved this release in November. The relocation is being supervised by the Kora Foundation and the Institute for Fish and Wildlife Health (Fiwi). The new lynx are also intended to strengthen genetic diversity in Graubünden.

MOBILE PHONES: In canton Jura, private smartphones and smartwatches will be banned in schools from February 1. Only digital devices provided by the schools may continue to be used. Other cantons, such as Valais and Aargau, already have similar regulations in place.

MOTORWAY VIGNETTE: From February 1, the 2025 motorway vignette will no longer be valid and the new 2026 motorway vignette must be purchased. It is valid until January 31, 2027.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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