Switzerland rejects plan to encourage farmers to save cow and goat's horns


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Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a national referendum on a cattle herder's proposal to subsidize goat and cow farmers if they let their animals keep the horns, according to official results.

The Swiss Federal Chancellery said that 54.7% of voters opposed the measure, which, according to their supporters, would improve the happiness and well-being of animals, while 45.3% voted in favor of this act. Opponents, along with a key federation of cattle ranchers and the federal government, said the measure would cost up to $ 30 million a year and would drain funds from $ 30 million a year. Other activities.

Armin Capaul, the small livestock breeder who had piloted the proposal, told Swiss public television RTS that he had "done something terrific in raising awareness of the condition of the cows." It's sensational ".

The highest percentage of support for the initiative among the Swiss cantons or regions came to Geneva, one of the most urban cantons in the country, where nearly three voters supported it.

The impact of the issue was more show than substance. Three-quarters of cows in Switzerland do not have horns and many are naturally born without them.

The Swiss have also been asked to vote on two other referendums in the framework of the Swiss direct democracy model. Referendums, which often take place several times a year, follow petition campaigns with at least 100,000 signatures to raise questions for a vote and, ultimately, amend the constitution.

The electorate has strongly endorsed a measure that will allow insurers to secretly monitor people suspected of insurance fraud: it has gone from almost 65% to just over 35%.

Voters have canceled the last measure of the federal vote: a proposal for "self-determination" to ensure the primacy of the Swiss Constitution over international treaties concluded by the government, an idea supported by the country's main right-wing populist party , the Swiss People's Party.

About two-thirds of voters rejected this plan. This approval could have had an impact on Switzerland's multifaceted and multifaceted relations with the European Union. Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but is surrounded by four members: Austria, France, Germany and Italy.

The overall participation rate was slightly lower at 47%.

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