Mandatory Castration Switzerland

For these reasons, the keeping of unneutered outdoor cats is highly problematic from an animal welfare perspective. Neutering outdoor cats is a proportionate measure to prevent a further increase in the stray cat population, reduce cat suffering and sustainably regulate the cat population in Switzerland. The current legislation does not go far enough. NetAP – Network for Animal Protection has therefore joined forces with the Stiftung für das Tier im Recht (TIR) to call for the creation of a Swiss-wide regulation that obliges all owners of outdoor cats to have them neutered by a vet.

On March 30, 2016, we launched our campaign “Mandatory castration for outdoor cats in Switzerland”. At the heart of the campaign is a petition calling on the Federal Council and Parliament to introduce compulsory neutering for outdoor cats in order to curb the excessive reproduction of cats and thus reduce cat suffering in Switzerland.

In autumn of 2016, the “SOS Fondation Chats” submitted a similar petition with over 17,000 signatures in Bern. At its meeting on 15 December 2016, the Council of States decided not to act on this petition for the “mandatory sterilization and castration of all cats in Switzerland”.

On June 12, 2018, we submitted a petition for mandatory neutering of outdoor cats in Switzerland to Bern with 115,567 signatures. Over 150 organizations support the motion. At the time the petition was handed over, 39 members of parliament had already co-signed the petition.

On October 2, 2018, TIR and NetAP sent an open letter to the Federal Council to once again draw attention to the prevalent cat suffering in Switzerland on World Animal Day on October 4th. They called on the Federal Council to find a sustainable and animal-friendly solution to the existing stray cat problem and thus send a clear signal in favor of animal welfare. The letter was never answered.

On October 3, 2018, the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) published the document “Questions and answers on neutering outdoor cats and Microchipping”.

Furthermore, the Society of Swiss Veterinarians (GST) published a policy document “Neutering cats yes – on a voluntary Basis” on November 22, 2018 on the issue of mandatory neutering.

On November 29, 2018, National Councillor Doris Fiala (FDP/ZH) submitted the motion “Less animal suffering thanks to mandatory castration for outdoor Cats” to the National Council.

On February 20, 2019, the Federal Council recommended the rejection of Doris Fiala’s motion. Its arguments are based primarily on the document “Questions and answers on the castration of outdoor cats and Microchipping” published by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) on October 3, 2018. In a joint letter, NetAP and TIR had already issued a comprehensive critical response to the FSVO paper last December. NetAP and TIR responded with an email to parliamentarians and a public statement on social media.

On June 21, 2019, the National Council rejected the petition without further discussion (see also Official Bulletin). Like the Federal Council, the National Council’s Committee for Science, Education and Culture (WBK) is also guided by a statement published last fall by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), which NetAP and TIR had already commented on in detail last December. The authorities and the National Council certainly recognize that there is a stray animal problem in Switzerland. However, they consider mandatory castration to be disproportionate. TIR and NetAP comment on this in the press release dated June 27, 2019.

On August 15, 2019, the WBK of the National Council submitted a motion 19.3959 “For better control of the reproduction of stray Cats” to the Federal Council. The motion instructs the Federal Council to make electronic identification of all cats mandatory. Unidentified cats should also be allowed to be sterilized without the owner’s consent.

On September 26, 2019, the Council of States also rejected the petition without discussion (see also Official Bulletin). The petition is thus finally off the table in Bern.

In a press release dated October 2nd, 2019, NetAP and TIR commented on the WBK motion: they welcome the recognition of cat suffering in Switzerland contained in the motion and the demands formulated. At the same time, however, they drew attention to the fact that mandatory identification will not solve the existing problem of overpopulation, as it has no direct influence on the sexual behavior of cats. Therefore, mandatory identification can only be seen as a flanking measure to mandatory castration.

On November 13, 2019, the Federal Council recommended the rejection of motion 19.3959 “For better control of the breeding of stray Cats”. The National Council followed suit on December 10, 2019.

Following regular reports in the media that the Swiss government rejects mandatory neutering due to the high costs it would incur for the state, TIR and NetAP wrote to the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) on February 27, 2020, asking for information on the costs the state would allegedly incur. As the demand for compulsory neutering of outdoor cats is directed at the owners and the costs-by-cause principle therefore applies, it is unclear what costs the federal government is constantly citing to justify its negative stance.

The FDHA subsequently instructs the FSVO to reply. In this reply dated April 9, 2020, the FSVO unfortunately does not address our questions, or only to a limited extent, which is why we wrote to Federal Councilor Alain Berset and the FDHA again on April 30, 2020, requesting answers to the outstanding questions. On May 13, 2020, we were informed that the FSVO had been tasked with answering the questions, but would only respond verbally. The corresponding telephone conversation took place on August 27, 2020. The FSVO assured us that it had recognized the cat misery and wanted to take measures, but that the castration obligation was not feasible. It confirmed that the argument of high costs was merely based on assumptions. The claim that the majority of owners were already neutering their cats and that cantons and municipalities were carrying out neutering campaigns was also based on assumptions. Other measures were discussed that could alleviate the suffering of cats.

On March 26, 2020, three members of the cantonal parliament (Stampfli/Graf/Rüfenacht) of the canton of Bern submitted a postulate calling for mandatory castration in the canton. The cantonal government recommends that this demand be rejected and bases its reasoning on the FSVO’s arguments. Together with the umbrella organization of Bernese animal welfare organizations, TIR and NetAP sent a set of arguments in favor of mandatory castration to all Bernese councilors on November 18, 2020. 2020. The vote is postponed from November of 2020 to March of 2021.

On October 29, 2020, Doris Fiala’s motion 18.4119 was also rejected by the National Council without discussion, with 151 votes against and 19 in favour.

On March 18, 2021, the postulate by Stampfli/Graf/Rüfenacht was rejected by the Cantonal Parliament of Bern with 88 votes against, 55 in favor and 8 withhold votes.

On May 31, 2021, Zurich cantonal councilors Nathalie Aeschbacher (GLP, Zurich), Linda Camenisch (FDP, Wallisellen), Isabel Bartal (SP, Zurich), Wilma Willi (Grüne, Dielsdorf) and Janine Vannaz (Die Mitte, Aesch) submitted postulate 208/2021, which calls on the cantonal government to examine measures to prevent the excessive proliferation of outdoor cats.

In June 2021, we received a reply from the FSVO to a citizen. She had contacted the FSVO because she was concerned about the development of cat suffering. Against its better judgment, the FSVO replied with the same arguments that we had already refuted several times and which the FSVO had already confirmed it could not prove (see above, August 27, 2020). On June 26, 2021, we asked the FSVO why it was still sticking to these claims. Unfortunately, the FSVO did not respond, but state that it will no longer comment on the issue. On August 5, 2021, we therefore sent another open letter to the FDHA, as we believe that an authority must stick to the facts and not spread unfounded assumptions. There was no reply.

On September 10, 2021, Claudia Baumgartner (GLP) and other female politicians in Basel-Stadt submitted an appeal (Geschäft 21.5630) to the cantonal government regarding the “Excessive proliferation of outdoor Cats / Animal welfare for stray Cats” with the request to examine appropriate measures.

On September 15, 2021, the Zurich cantonal government speaks out against measures that would sustainably improve the situation for cats. In its reasoning, it also follows the FSVO (RR minutes of 15.09.2021).

On the occasion of World Cat Day on August 8, 2022, the FSVO refers to cats as pests in the press. In a letter, we asked the FSVO to comment on what steps it was planning to take to fight against the suffering of cats. In an email dated 19 September 2022, the FSVO replied: “The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) has taken note of the requests from NetAP and other animal welfare organizations regarding the prevention of feral cat populations through mandatory cat neutering. Any regulations in this regard must take into account not only animal welfare concerns but also the concerns of cat owners and enforcement authorities. In addition, any new animal welfare legislation must be proportionate, feasible and reasonable in its overall context. We will submit specific proposals for comments as part of the consultation process, but cannot provide any further information until then.”

On August 24, 2023, City Councilor Susanne Clauss (SP) submitted a parliamentary proposal to the city of Biel to curb the cat epidemic.

The Cantonal Council of the Canton of Zurich decides by 111 : 56 votes (with 0 withheld votes) to refer to the postulate KR no. 208/2021 to the Government Council. The latter must draw up a report on the subject of cat suffering within two years. .
Dieser muss innert zweier Jahre einen Bericht zum Thema Katzenelend ausarbeiten.

The Basel-Stadt cantonal council proposes that the motion by Claudia Baumgartner and her colleagues concerning the “Excessive reproduction of outdoor Cats / Animal welfare for stray Cats” be written off.

The Grand Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt decides by 72:16 votes against writing off the motion by Claudia Baumgartner and consorts. The cantonal government therefore has two years to draw up a proposal for a solution.

St. Gallen cantonal councilor Andreas Bisig (GLP) submits an interpellation on the subject of “Getting feral cats under control: Introduction of a mandatory chip for cats”.

The City Council of Biel definitively rejects Susanne Clauss’ postulate “Curbing cat misery”. Here, too, cat suffering is not denied, but the responsibility for suitable measures is shifted back to the federal government.