New Swiss Law Sets High Standards for Animal Care
An interesting article appeared in the June, 2008 issue of Veterinary Economics.
Swiss law orders pet buddy system
Guinea pigs need friends, dog owners need classes.A new law in Switzerland taking effect Sept. 1 widens animal rights laws in revolutionary ways. Consider the law’s fine print:
>Animals classified as “social species”–such as guinea pigs and parrots–will be considered victims of abuse if they don’t live or interact regularly with others of their species.
>Dog owners will need to pay for and take a class. The first section of the class focuses on dogs’ needs and wishes, according to The Times of London. The second section explains how owners should walk their dogs and deal with different behavioral situations.
The article goes on to describe new regulations that will take effect to promote humane fishing and farming. The law also sets standards for responsible care of fish kept in home aquariums.
The article ends with a note about enforcement and a strange exception to the new regulations.
Authorities promise they won’t be going door to door to check up on pet owners. They expect public opinion and mandatory training classes to do most of the work for them.
On a side note, it’s not all roses for cats in Switzerland. The Times reports that it’s still legal in Switzerland to skin cats and sell their pelts for domestic and foreign markets. Some people believe that touching cat fur can lessen the pain associated with rheumatism.
It appears that even ultra-progressive cultures such as Switzerland are not free of superstition! To people who believe that touching cat fur lessens the pain from rheumatism, I suggest the following: try petting a real, live cat.
You have questions. 
So, you have to take a class to better focus on a dogs needs and wishes, be legally responsible for providing a same species buddy to guinea pigs and parrots, even placate your goldfish….but you can skin a cat and sell it’s pelt?
What happened to a cat’s needs and wishes? I highly doubt that it wants to be skinned.
Rediculous. If you’re pretending to wave the flag for animal caring, and yet disqualify one species for your own cruel human superstitious needs…then it’s ALL bunk. YOU FAIL.
my mom has rhuemetoid arthritis, and she says that petting our cats help. but i’ve read that the purr of a cat has more affect on human health than the pelt. and my mom says that she feels better listening to our cats’ purr even than petting them. what are they going to do next, cut out cat’s voice boxes so people don’t have to own one but can still hear them purr? what’s the point in changing a law like that without including ALL domestic pets? maybe we should start skinning them and see if they like it… “do unto others as you would want done unto yourself”…
I see that barbarism (cat pelts, etc) still exists in this “advanced” day and age. Get real, people — those are living beings– enjoy them and give them a DECENT life.
Oh, dear. I was feeling so good about Switzerland until I got to the part about the cats. This is unbelievable. Shame on them.