On Sunday the “Mise au point” programme of Swiss public broadcaster RTS showed footage External linkof horses being beaten, kicked and electrocuted at the Meramist abbatoir near Brisbane. The hidden camera footage taken last year was sent anonymously to Swiss animal welfare group Tierschutzbund ZurichExternal link.
External Content
According to customs data, around 300 tons of horse meat was imported into Switzerland from Australia between 2018 and 2019. Sabrina Gautner of Tierschutzbund Zurich is convinced that all of the Australian horse meat passes through the Meramist abbatoir where the abuses were filmed.
“Australia’s second largest export-approved slaughterhouse doesn’t slaughter horses at the moment, so yes, it’s the only one slaughtering for Switzerland,” she told RTS, Her organisation wants Switzerland to abolish import of horsemeat from overseas.
Australian horsemeat is sourced by two distributors in Switzerland: one in Basel and the other in Clarens near Lake Geneva. The Swiss Association of Horse Meat Importers refused to respond to questions sent by RTS.
Australia slaughters around 100,000 horses a year for export. In 2019, 2,406 tons of horse meat were imported into Switzerland: 541 tons from Argentina, 446 tons from Canada, 408 tons from Spain, 270 tons from France, 182 tons from Italy, 151 tons from Uruguay, 132 tons from Australia.
More
More
Horsemeat is a part of Swiss culinary heritage
This content was published on
Switzerland’s official inventory of culinary heritage has a new listing: horsemeat.
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
Asian investors sue Switzerland over Credit Suisse bond losses
This content was published on
More than 500 investors from Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong have launched claims against Switzerland in relation to AT1 bonds.
Man cleared of Geneva diplomat murder but convicted of rape
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court has acquitted an Ivorian-Italian dual national of murdering an Egyptian diplomat in Geneva in 1995.
Switzerland to cut funding for gala cultural events from 2029
This content was published on
Large-scale Swiss cultural events, such as the Locarno Film Festival, will lose state funding from 2029 as part of a cost-cutting drive by the administration.
Ideas to recover ammunition from Swiss lakes flood in
This content was published on
An appeal to the public to suggest ways to safely retrieve 8,000 tons of munitions from the bottom of Swiss lakes has yielded around 100 proposals.
This content was published on
Swiss public television SRF will axe 50 full-time positions by the beginning of next year as it aims to make CHF9 million in savings.
Explosion in global patents for transport innovations
This content was published on
The number of patents for transport innovations has exploded in the last 20 years, rising 700% to 120,000 by 2023, says WIPO.
Swiss NGO Terre des hommes loses $10m from US aid freeze
This content was published on
The Swiss-based NGO Terre des hommes is losing $10 million in annual contributions as a result of the suspension of humanitarian aid by the United States administration.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Vets call for action in new horsemeat scandal
This content was published on
Earlier this week, a Swiss television programme showed how horses in Argentina, Mexico, Canada and the United States were being abused. Their meat eventually landed on Swiss dinner plates in the form of steak or perhaps in ready-made foods falsely labelled as “beef-flavoured”. “The images show catastrophic conditions,” as Federal Veterinary Office director Hans Wyss…
This content was published on
Police in northeastern Switzerland have detained a horse dealer suspected of cruelty to animals and closed down his farm near Lake Constance.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.