Switzerland looks to ban import of puppies younger than 15 weeks

According to the interior ministry, the 15-week age limit is in force in many European Union countries. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

The Swiss government wants to put a stop to irresponsible imports of puppies. It's tabled a proposal banning the import of dogs that are younger than 15 weeks. A consultation on the proposal is underway until March 15.

With this measure, the Federal Council (executive body) aims to reduce the number of spontaneous and ill-considered purchases of puppies on the internet and curb the irresponsible trade in animals, the interior ministry stated on Monday. Puppies purchased on the internet are brought to Switzerland by collective transport, which encourages the transmission of diseases.

Switzerland currently has no minimum age for dogs being imported, although puppies under eight weeks of age must be accompanied by their mother.

+ How well are Swiss animals protected?

According to the interior ministry, the 15-week age limit is in force in many European Union countries. However, an exception must be made for private individuals who pick up a young dog themselves from a breeder abroad. Exceptions must also be made for the import of intervention dogs.

Animals for experiments

The government is also planning changes to better protect animals intended for experiments. A new article in the ordinance explicitly limits the keeping of animals for testing to what is strictly necessary. In addition, the subsequent use of animals designated for experiments will in future have to be recorded in a database. This requirement applies in particular to animals bred for experimental purposes that are not ultimately used and are therefore killed.

+ Swiss voters reject ban on animal testing

This greater transparency should help to reduce the number of animals bred for experimental purposes. In addition, the cages and enclosures of all animals bred for experiments will henceforth have to offer the possibility of retreating into hiding places. The proposed measures are in line with the 3-R principle in force in Switzerland, which consists of reducing the number of animal experiments, replacing animal experiments, and refining the methods used.

Finally, certain practices must be banned because they no longer correspond to the current concept of animal protection. These include, in particular, the trimming (shortening) of hens’ beaks, certain methods used on horses and the shortening of sheep tails.

How we work

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here. 

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to [e-mail].