Pigs granted shower rights!
New
law governs treatment of domestic animals.
BERN, Swtizerland -
September 1, 2008 - Pigs have been granted shower rights and budgies and
hamsters cannot be kept alone under a new law in Switzerland that
governs the treatment of domestic animals.
The new requirements went into effect today, according to an Agence France-Presse report, and detail the treatment of animals including pets, farm animals or those used in scientific experimentation.
For example, AFP reported, unwanted goldfish no longer can be disposed of down the toilet unless they first are knocked out and then killed. And fishermen now are forbidden to do catch-and-release fishing.
The requirement that hamsters cannot be kept alone also applies to more exotic animals including llamas and alpacas, as well as sheep and goats, which by the new law must have at least "a visual contact with their fellows," the report said.
Dog owners must take classes to learn how to raise their pets to be less likely to bite and owners who wish to "customize" their pets cannot have tails or ears cropped.
And the report said pigs - sometimes appearing to be the happiest rolling around in the mud - now have a legal right to a shower.
