Initiative «Stop Animal Suffering» Submitted with 11’000 Signatures

On Thursday, the cantonal initiative «Stop Animal Suffering» was submitted in St. Gallen with 11’187 signatures. It is directed against fences that act as death traps for wildlife.

Prior to the handover to the State Chancellery, a brief press event was held at St. Gallen's Cathedral Square, attended by media representatives, members of the initiative committee, and the «Top 10 signature collectors». The boxes containing the initiative forms were stacked on the fountain in front of the festival stage, decorated with a bleached animal skull.

A representative of the security personnel at Cathedral Square (Verkehrsüberwachung Schweiz) showed no appreciation for the event, insisting rather firmly on seeing a permit for the occasion.

By that point, however, the speeches were already over. Former FDP National Councillor Peter Weigelt had explained that they had wanted to submit as many signatures as possible and had therefore made use of the deadline until the very last day. Instead of the required 5,000, more than 11’000 signatures were collected as a result.

No More Barbed Wire

The initiative concerns the protection of wildlife that perishes or is injured because of fences. Specifically, it demands that dangerous fences that are not necessary must be removed. This applies, for example, to barbed wire fences, which are unnecessary, as a ban in the canton of Graubünden has shown.

For other dangerous enclosures such as electric fences or pasture netting, the initiative calls for clear requirements such as mandatory removal deadlines or switching off the current when not in use. Furthermore, fences in forests are to be prohibited as a matter of principle.

Switch Off Fence Current More Often

In the canton of St. Gallen, dairy farming dominates, which means fences are more significant there than in cantons with extensive arable farming, said Christian Meienberger, executive director of Pro Natura St. Gallen-Appenzell. Barbed wire is repeatedly found along forest edges, for example. Pasture nets are left in place for weeks without being removed — and wildlife can become entangled in them.

"Inspections have shown that farmers deliberately leave fences along forest edges electrified for months to prevent wildlife from entering the pasture," he says. No one in the canton of St. Gallen is responsible for addressing the problem.

Lukas Indermaur, executive director of WWF St. Gallen, noted that support for the popular initiative had been high across all constituencies.The farmers' association had already responded by calling on farmers to remove fences that are no longer needed.Several such projects have already been completed. The initiative nonetheless remains important, even though voluntary engagement can now be observed.