Mon, Nov 6th 2023
On Monday, the Winterthur district court sentenced a permaculture farmer to a fine of 1,500 francs. The 40-year-old ignored the measures against bird flu because they were costly and contradicted his alternative ideology.
The Winterthur District Court convicted the farmer of multiple violations of animal disease legislation. “The protective measures against avian influenza ordered by the federal government must be complied with”, the judge made clear at the sentencing hearing.
The additional effort and ideology are no reason to ignore the measures. After all, animals very close to his farm had fallen ill with H5N1. The permaculture farm was located in the surveillance zone, where strict protective measures were in place.
The farmer argued that he could not keep his 30 chickens in a covered facility because he practiced permaculture. In this form of alternative agriculture, chickens are responsible for pest control, weed control and soil loosening. “I therefore need the chickens outside.”
If he had complied with the measures, permaculture would not have been possible during this time. The farmer would have had to buy a loosening machine for the soil, insecticides and chicken feed for the caged animals. All of this would have contradicted the principles of permaculture – and it would have cost money.
“The protective measures against bird flu are only suitable for conventional farms,” he said. Permaculture farms could not comply with them at all. The farmer therefore does not want to pay the fine. It is a question of principle that will have to be clarified by the Federal Supreme Court if necessary.
However, the convicted man not only criticized the measures, he also expressed doubts about the existence of bird flu. He had researched it and it was still not clear to him what type of pathogen they were talking about. “If this disease really exists, the birds will develop immunity to it.”
Exactly one year ago, the federal government imposed measures against bird flu. Until spring of this year, poultry farmers had to comply with protective measures to prevent their animals from coming into contact with infected wild birds.
The poultry had to be housed in a covered and fenced run. All poultry farmers – both commercial and private – must also register their animals, regardless of the risk of bird flu.
The farmer had also failed to do this. He had not opened the letter from the veterinary office, he said. It was at home “with the things that are not so important”.
There are currently around 50 farms in Switzerland that are run according to the principles of permaculture. The aim is to cultivate the soil as gently as possible. Modern technologies are rejected, as are pesticides and artificial fertilizers.
©Keystone/SDA
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