Swiss reject proposal to ban intensive livestock farming

Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to ban intensive livestock farming in their country.

Provisional results listed by the Swiss Federal Chancellery show 62.86% of voters rejected the motion.

The referendum was launched by Sentience Politics in 2016 with support from Greenpeace Switzerland, Four Paws Switzerland and the Foundation Franz Weber.

See also: Swiss to vote on proposal to ban intensive livestock farming

The policy would have required the federal government to set more strict minimum requirements for animal-friendly housing and care, access to the outdoors, slaughtering practices and the maximum group size a pen.

“I’ve voted no,” Geneva resident Fabrice Drouin told news agency Reuters.

“There are farmers who are doing intensive farming with their animals but they are respecting animal welfare, and to feed the population, we have to do factory farming, at least a little, otherwise, we won’t be able to eat meat anymore.”

The proposal was supported by ProVeg International, an international food awareness organisation that wants to transform the global food system by replacing conventional animal-based products with plant-based and cultured alternatives.

ProVeg ‘disappointed’

Vice president Jasmijn de Boo said: “Whilst we are disappointed with the outcome of the vote, we believe it has served to raise awareness about the urgent need to rein in intensive animal farming.

“Not only does factory farming impact the welfare of animals, it is also responsible for high greenhouse gas emissions, which need to be reduced in order to avoid climate chaos and ecosystem collapse.

“We hope that other countries will be inspired by the initiative in Switzerland and launch their own initiatives to address the environmental damage caused by factory farming.”

Philipp Ryf, co-president of Sentience, the group that started the initiative, said: “In the next 25 years, Swiss agriculture will and must change significantly, a view shared by the Swiss government.

“We will continue to campaign for animal-friendly and sustainable agriculture, and we look forward to the day where factory farms are a thing of the past.”