Animal welfare organizations want to gradually end animal testing
Published: Monday, Apr 29th 2024, 10:50
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Animal welfare organizations submitted a petition against animal testing to the federal government on Monday. The organizations announced that over 40,000 signatures had been collected in support of the issue.
They are calling for a gradual phase-out of animal testing in Switzerland. In the view of the animal welfare organizations, this requires a phase-out plan with concrete milestones as to when which animal experiments will be replaced by animal-free methods.
According to the animal rights activists, a large proportion of animal experiments in Switzerland are currently approved uncritically and massively supported by taxpayers' money. According to the animal welfare organizations, this is a mistake. They argue that research on animals can only be transferred to humans to a limited extent. In their view, moving away from animal testing would also make research more efficient.
Always on the political agenda
The petition was launched by Animalfree Research, the Swiss League Against Animal Experiments and for Animal Rights (LSCV), the Foundation for the Animal in Law (TIR), the Swiss Association for the Abolition of Animal Welfare (Atra) and the Zurich Animal Protection Association. The issue is also supported by a number of scientists.
The call for a ban on animal testing is a recurring item on the political agenda in Switzerland. The last time the fourth initiative to ban animal testing failed at the ballot box was in February 2022: Swiss voters said no to the initiative to ban animal testing with a good 79%.
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