Sign up for our newsletter.

Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.

Follow us:

Imagine a world in which independent media is gone...

And the only sources of news are controlled by a handful of giant corporations and oligarchs. It's not some far away dystopia. It's happening now.

Don't let it. Our reader-funded news model relies on you. Please chip in—nonprofit journalism is essential to the survival of democracy.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Corporate gatekeepers and big tech monopolists are making it more difficult than ever for independent media to survive. Please chip in today.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Factory farms like this one in Canada could be banned in Switzerland.

Factory farms like this one in Canada could be banned in Switzerland. (Photo: Mercy For Animals Canada/Flickr)

Swiss Voters to Decide on Whether to Allow Factory Farming to Continue in 'Milestone' Moment

On September 16, the campaign submitted more than enough signatures for the measure to appear on the upcoming ballot.

Eoin Higgins

Voters in Switzerland will soon have their say on whether or not the country continues to allow factory farming thanks to an initiative by animal rights campaigners that delivered that country's Parliament on Monday over 100,000 signatures to force a referendum on the matter.

"A milestone for the Swiss environmental and animal protection movement," tweeted animal rights campaigner Philipp Ryf. 

The campaign was the result of work by a broad coalition of groups, including Swiss animal rights group Sentience Politics, Greenpeace, the Franz Weber Foundation, and many others. The push for the referendum began in June of 2018, citing climate change and animal cruelty as motivating factors.

"Fifty percent of all piglets raised in Switzerland are slaughtered without ever seeing the sky," said Sentience Politics' Meret Schneider.

On September 16, the campaign submitted more than enough signatures for the measure to appear on the upcoming ballot.

Campaigners celebrated on social media and shared pictures of the petition delivery. 

The Swiss Parliament will discuss the proposal before setting a date for the vote, according to SwissInfo. 

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Comments

We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

Latest News

See all
Nine-year-old Nasra Omar reads a book to 1st graders at Riverton Elementary School. The school's mentoring Civil Rights Team, made up of 4th and 5th graders, read books to kindergartners and first graders about civil rights and anti-bias themes in Portland, Maine. (Photo: John Ewing/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Judy Blume, Mo Willems Among 1,300 Children's Authors to Condemn 'Wave of Book Suppression'

"Reading stories that reflect the diversity of our world builds empathy and respect for everyone's humanity."

Kenny Stancil ·

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) at rally about ending fossil fuel subsidies

Now Do Windfall Tax, Say Climate Groups After Passage of Big Oil Price Gouging Bill

"Voters will reward politicians who stand up for people, not polluters," said one campaigner, "and taxing windfall profits is wildly popular in every part of the country."

Brett Wilkins ·

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at a news conference

Ocasio-Cortez: Maloney Should Quit DCCC Post If He Runs Against Mondaire Jones

"It's completely inappropriate" for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney to be in charge of the House Democrats' campaign arm "if he's going to challenge another member," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Kenny Stancil ·

Child in typhoon debris

War, Disasters Drive 'All-Time High' of Nearly 60 Million Displaced in Home Nations

The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council noted the situation "is phenomenally worse than even our record figure suggests" because it does not include those forced to flee Russia's assault on Ukraine.

Jessica Corbett ·

fossil free

Global Climate Movement Warns Nations Have Just 6 Months to End Fossil Fuel Finance

"The pandemic has shown that governments can rapidly mobilize massive sums of public money," says one campaigner. "This is the moment to do it, and accelerate the transition."

Brett Wilkins ·

Most Popular

 
  1. 'We Have to Flip This Seat': After Senate Primary Win, Fetterman Shifts Focus to Beating GOP
  2. Neofascist Minority Rule by the GOP Is Laying Waste to the United States
  3. Athens Declaration Calls for End to Ukraine War and Creation of 'Lasting Peace'
  4. Texas Gov. Abbott's Solution to Formula Shortage? Let Migrant Babies Starve
  5. Tucker Carlson's 'Great Replacement' Theory Comes From an Anti-US Nazi French Thinker
  6. Buffalo Gunman's Racism Directly Tied to Mainstreaming of White Nationalism, Say Critics
  7. Kagan Pens Scathing Dissent as Supreme Court Kills Another Campaign Finance Rule
  8. Big Oil Backs GOP Insurrectionists With $1 Million in Gifts
  9. In Telling Slip, George W. Bush Condemns the 'Unjustified and Brutal Invasion of Iraq'
  10. Russia Cuts Off Electricity to Finland as Tensions Grow Over NATO Expansion
Common Dreams Logo

To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.