NationStates Jolt Archive

All Swiss animals are equal - but some more so than others

My particular favorite "Pigs, for example, are often said to be happiest when rolling around in the mud -- but now they have the legal right to a shower to freshen up."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/switzerlandanimalslawoffbeat

What else is new? We are talking about a country in which mushroom picking is only legal on certain days of the week, after all (Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays I believe it was).

Animals (expecially animals with a central nervous system) are living beings able to feel pain, and blessed with a psyche.
Inflicting unnecessary pain, or forcing feeling beings into dire living conditions or to unnecessary surgery, is cruel, stupid and unethical.
This law is a good move - maybe the part about the correct disposal of goldfishes will be difficult to enforce, but at least it's a try.

Hooray for the Swiss!

Animals (expecially animals with a central nervous system) are living beings able to feel pain, and blessed with a psyche.
Inflicting unnecessary pain, or forcing feeling beings into dire living conditions or to unnecessary surgery, is cruel, stupid and unethical.
This law is a good move - maybe the part about the correct disposal of goldfishes will be difficult to enforce, but at least it's a try.

Hooray for the Swiss!

Rediculous. Is declawing your cat unnessesary surgery and illegal? Should we get cows to sign consent forms before we slaughter trhem? Showering PIGS?

Rediculous. Is declawing your cat unnessesary surgery and illegal? Should we get cows to sign consent forms before we slaughter trhem? Showering PIGS?

Declawing your cat is unnecessary surgery and IS illegal (at least in civilised countries).
Cows are required to be unconscious before slaughter, and the transport to the slaughterhouse has to meet conditions that ensure that the animals are not put under more stress than necessary.

Declawing your cat is unnecessary surgery and IS illegal (at least in civilised countries).


Consider this, declawing a permanent indoor cat is a few minutes of discomfort and a day of recovering vs a lifetime of getting the crap beaten out of it for scratching the $4000 leather couch. Seems like a reasonable deal for the cat.

And you've yet to explain showering pigs.

Consider this, declawing a permanent indoor cat is a few minutes of discomfort and a day of recovering vs a lifetime of getting the crap beaten out of it for scratching the $4000 leather couch. Seems like a reasonable deal for the cat.

How would you like it if someone cut off the top section of each of your fingers and toes?

If you don't want the couch ruined, don't get a cat. If you have a cat, don't buy the couch. It's not difficult.

Thankfully, in England declawing is described, in law, as mutilation.

Rediculous. Is declawing your cat unnessesary surgery and illegal? Should we get cows to sign consent forms before we slaughter trhem? Showering PIGS?

1.Yes.
2.No, just to kill them painlessly and to make the live decently.
3.Yes, unless you want pigs who stink, catch and carry disease, and become psychotic.

And it's ridiculous to claim that animals don't have right to a decent life, and cruel to make them suffer when unnecessary.

Consider this, declawing a permanent indoor cat is a few minutes of discomfort and a day of recovering vs a lifetime of getting the crap beaten out of it for scratching the $4000 leather couch. Seems like a reasonable deal for the cat.

I was able to teach my cat not to scratch my leather couch. It just took a single slap once and a menacing look a couple of times afterwards. It's called brain over brawn.

Consider this, declawing a permanent indoor cat is a few minutes of discomfort and a day of recovering vs a lifetime of getting the crap beaten out of it for scratching the $4000 leather couch. Seems like a reasonable deal for the cat.

We'll cut the tips off your fingers and see if you still feel it's a 'reasonable deal'.

I was able to teach my cat not to scratch my leather couch. It just took a single slap once and a menacing look a couple of times afterwards. It's called brain over brawn.

You clearly dont know my cat. Shes now 15 years old and 9 pounds. I just moved into my gfs house and she has 3 cats and a 80 lb rotweiler. She has not left the bedroom in a week and the 80 lb dog is completly cowed by this normally gentle hissing growling madcat. This killer dog whimpers and hides behind me from the menacing 9 lb declawed cat. Slap and a menacing look lmao.

3.Yes, unless you want pigs who stink, catch and carry disease, and become psychotic.


Pigs stink? A pig rolling around in the mud doesnt give you disease. Animals roll around in the mud all the time and its perfectly normal and natural. My gfs dog keeps trying to eat cat turds out of the catbox. Thats also normal and natural. You know any psychotic pigs? Clean or dirty? Skunks stink too, should we begin the Swiss give a skunk a shower program?

Yep this is fine, nowt wrong with it at all as far as I'm concerend.

Pigs stink? A pig rolling around in the mud doesnt give you disease. Animals roll around in the mud all the time and its perfectly normal and natural. You know any psychotic pigs? Clean or dirty? Skunks stink too, should we begin the Swiss give a skunk a shower program?

Why would they do that? You don't get skunks in Switzerland. Now you're being ridiculous.

Why would they do that? You don't get skunks in Switzerland. Now you're being ridiculous.

Flatulent goats?

Showering PIGS?Happy pigs grow faster, it makes economic sense. (And as was said before, it stands to cut down on smell and disease)

Rediculous. Is declawing your cat unnessesary surgery and illegal?

"yes" and "should be". Its like cutting fins off a fish for fucks sake. Or getting the vocal chords of dogs cut, as I seem to remember some fuck trying.

"yes" and "should be". Its like cutting fins off a fish for fucks sake. Or getting the vocal chords of dogs cut, as I seem to remember some fuck trying.

You cut the fins off of a fish, the fish dies. My cat had her claws removed and until this last week youve never seen a happier healthier cat in your life.

Happy pigs grow faster, it makes economic sense. (And as was said before, it stands to cut down on smell and disease)

Each should be given a stay at the Motel 6.

Each should be given a stay at the Motel 6.

Stupidity. You really don't see how making sure that the treatment of other sentiant speices are protected by law is a good thing?

Stupidity. You really don't see how making sure that the treatment of other sentiant speices are protected by law is a good thing?

Should it be part of the social contract yes, should it be Law? No.


If your torturing a mouse, your an asshole but not a felon.

Animals (expecially animals with a central nervous system) are living beings able to feel pain, and blessed with a psyche.
Inflicting unnecessary pain, or forcing feeling beings into dire living conditions or to unnecessary surgery, is cruel, stupid and unethical.
This law is a good move - maybe the part about the correct disposal of goldfishes will be difficult to enforce, but at least it's a try.

Hooray for the Swiss!

This. Good for the Swiss.

This law is a good move - maybe the part about the correct disposal of goldfishes will be difficult to enforce, but at least it's a try.

Hooray for the Swiss!

THIS JUST IN! The Swiss have just released the proper legal procedure for disposing of Sea Monkeys in the toilet. And Ant Farm disposal now requires Taps and 21 gun salute.

Should it be part of the social contract yes, should it be Law? No.


If your torturing a mouse, your an asshole but not a felon.

Why not?

God forbid either providing living conditions appropriate for one's pets, or simply not having them when the only way to do it is by crippling them.

As such, and following Intestinal fluids's logic to its inevitable conclusion, I shall cut off the fingers of my future child, to avoid any dish-breaking accidents.

God forbid either providing living conditions appropriate for one's pets, or simply not having them when the only way to do it is by crippling them.

As such, and following Intestinal fluids's logic to its inevitable conclusion, I shall cut off the fingers of my future child, to avoid any dish-breaking accidents.

Wouldnt lacking fingers create more of a likelyhood the child would drop a dish? That seems to be a counterintuitive solution to broken dishes.

Consider this, declawing a permanent indoor cat is a few minutes of discomfort and a day of recovering vs a lifetime of getting the crap beaten out of it for scratching the $4000 leather couch. Seems like a reasonable deal for the cat.

And you've yet to explain showering pigs.

It's unnecessary, and the fiasco with furniture can easily be avoided if you cough up the 20 Euros for a decent scratching post (and yes, I currently have 2 indoor cats and 1 outdoors cat)

Why would I be obliged to explain anything about the pigs?

God forbid either providing living conditions appropriate for one's pets, or simply not having them when the only way to do it is by crippling them.


I do not believe you have sufficiently demonstrated that declawing a cat is crippling them. Cripple means to remove an ability. What ability has been removed when your cat is a forever indoor cat?

If i take out your appendix i havnt crippled you.

I do not believe you have sufficiently demonstrated that declawing a cat is crippling them. Cripple means to remove an ability. What ability has been removed when your cat is a forever indoor cat?

If i take out your appendix i havnt crippled you.

Actually, if you do so without the appendix being in need of being removed (due to infection for example), you HAVE crippled him and are in danger of a lawsuit, as well as being in danger of having your medical license revoked.

Perhaps the Swiss could add an additional clause to stop the torture of OPs who find themselves saying things nobody else agrees with.

And you've yet to explain showering pigs.

I think the explanation is that there are far too many lawmakers in the world. And all of them seem to be trying to justify their existence by passing more laws without regard to quality or consequences.

Continuing to vote for them only encourages them...

Instead, a fish must be first knocked out and then killed before its body can be disposed of, the law stipulates.

I don't have a degree in veterinary medicine, so I'm still trying to figure out how the average goldfish owner knocks out a fish without killing it.

I don't have a degree in veterinary medicine, so I'm still trying to figure out how the average goldfish owner knocks out a fish without killing it.

Then they must be given a shower.

I don't have a degree in veterinary medicine, so I'm still trying to figure out how the average goldfish owner knocks out a fish without killing it.
With trout, If I'm not going to release 'em, I will always kill the fish before sticking it in my creel. I suppose you could smack the goldfish on the head with a rock or a stick.

Then they must be given a shower.

To be fair to the Swiss, the article says "Right to" a shower, not "required to be given" a shower. Still, I get the feeling that the country doesn't depend on animal farming or commercial fishing for much of it's income, judging by the parts of the law mentioned in the article. Most of those measures are going to stifle both.

With trout, If I'm not going to release 'em, I will always kill the fish before sticking it in my creel. I suppose you could smack the goldfish on the head with a rock or a stick.

Slip the fish a ruffy before dropping a plugged-in toaster into the fish bowl?

I don't have a degree in veterinary medicine, so I'm still trying to figure out how the average goldfish owner knocks out a fish without killing it.

With most fishing, a quick knock on the head stuns them, and it's the leaving them outa water that kills them.

To be fair to the Swiss, the article says "Right to" a shower, not "required to be given" a shower. Still, I get the feeling that the country doesn't depend on animal farming or commercial fishing for much of it's income, judging by the parts of the law mentioned in the article. Most of those measures are going to stifle both.
This really does beg the question about what a 'right' really is... Somehow, I think that a right implies something a little more substantial than the ability to shower when desired.

It's all pointless, meaningless wishy washy rhetoric, until someone gets arrested for stepping on an ant.

It's all pointless, meaningless wishy washy rhetoric, until someone gets arrested for stepping on an ant.

Don't step on an ant, he's done nothing to you.

Reminds me of a story about how cows seem to really enjoy a good brush massage, are happier, healthier, shinier, cleaner, and produce more milk.

So why not showering pigs?

Reminds me of a story about how cows seem to really enjoy a good brush massage, are happier, healthier, shinier, cleaner, and produce more milk.

So why not showering pigs?

Shit yeah, anything to make bacon taste even better!

Continuing to vote for them only encourages them...

The decline in the voter participation rate does not seemed to be discouraging them.

Finally a country with a conscience.

I applaud the Swiss for this wonderful new law.

I always figured pigs didn't like showers, sort of like how cats dislike baths.

I always figured pigs didn't like showers, sort of like how cats dislike baths.

I heard that lying in mud is like a bath for pigs. It serves similar purposes or something.

If we are just going to slaughter animals for food and other products we might as well give them a first class life in captivity.

I'm not sure if I am being sarcastic here.

Whether these exhaustive laws regarding pet handling are good or bad, considering the sheer scope of them I have to ask myself; How much free time do Swiss lawmakers have?!?

Whether these exhaustive laws regarding pet handling are good or bad, considering the sheer scope of them I have to ask myself; How much free time do Swiss lawmakers have?!?

The Swiss have enough time to drill holes in perfectly good cheese. So, the real question is: how much time don't they have?

Did the Swiss invent the clock?

Maybe they are just really efficient so they have time for things which may or may not have any relevance to the real world.