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People’s initiative launched to force vote on animal rights

Swiss animal rights activists have started collecting signatures in a bid to force a nationwide vote on animal rights. They want the status of animals changed so that they are recognised as living things.

Swiss animal rights activists have started collecting signatures in a bid to force a nationwide vote on animal rights. They want the status of animals changed so that they are recognised as living things.

Animal protection groups and veterinarians launched the people’s initiative in a bid to secure better rights for animals, which are not recognised as being alive under Swiss law.

They have until September 14, 2001, to collect the 100,000 signatures necessary to force a nationwide vote on the issue. They say they have already secured the support of 60 organisations.

The initiative comes just two weeks after another group launched a similar campaign under the title: “Animals are not just things”.

The impetus for both of the initiatives comes after parliament refused to discuss proposed animal rights legislation last December.

swissinfo and agencies

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