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Currently, Zurich is the only Swiss canton (an administrative district similar to a county in the United States) to have a government-subsidized animal lawyer. Antoine Goetschel represents dogs, cats, guinea pigs, farm animals, and even fish who have been abused, reports the (U.K.) Telegraph.
"People accused of animal cruelty very often hire lawyers to defend themselves," Goetschel tells the Telegraph. "Why shouldn't someone speak for the animal as well? It's about fairness and defending a minority."
The referendum was required to be held after "activists from the Swiss Animal Protection (SAP) collected more than the 100,000 signatures required to force a national ballot," reports the Telegraph. But the animal activists were in the minority. The majority of voters in 26 cantons in Switzerland voted against the measure. Goetschel wasn't surprised. "Animal welfare has been a big topic in Switzerland in the last few years and perhaps this has been too much for some Swiss," the Zurich animal lawyer told the Telegraph.
Switzerland has some of the world's strictest animal protection laws, reports the Telegraph. "It recently changed its constitution to protect the 'dignity' of plant life and made a law last year establishing rights for creatures such as goldfish and canaries," states the Telegraph. "Pigs, budgies and other social creatures cannot be kept alone; horses and cows must be regularly exercised outside their stalls and dog owners are required to take a training course to learn how to properly care for their pets."
What do you think? Is the notion of state-funded lawyers for animals just too bizarre? Or is it a great idea?
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They should be that strict in the US.
I totally agree. Great idea. Plus, it would give all the lawyers something constructive to do.
I like it. I really love the law that requires people to take a class to learn how to take care for their pets. Often people take on an animal without fully realizing how much time, work and money is involved in the proper care of a pet. Personally I like big dogs - anything under 70 pounds to me is small - but I am fully aware of what it takes to raise and care for a large dog. I think sometimes people are just over whelmed. Sometimes people are just mean for the sake of being mean. Their abuse of an animal or animals is deliberate. For those I would have a special place…..
ALL animals should be loved but sadly too many are badly provided for, especially here in San Antonio, Texas! They need lawyers just like people. They need someone to be their voice.
The problem is that attitudes such as animal care are learned by association. A main association is culture. San Antonio is essentially hispanic culture which is well known for extreme cruelty. Bull fights, dog fights, cock fights are just a few of the current cultural attitudes. And, only 150 years ago the base culture of hispanics (Indian) was known for its savagery, slavery and torture. A relative short time for someone to expect a population to respect the welfare of furry little fuzzballs. A few generations prior, they ate the fuzzball. We should hope that the folks in SA would just learn to respect each other, and stop killing each other. If that doesn't happen, SA will someday be like the border, where the hispanic culture seems to have reverted to the savagery of the past.