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It was a stalemate in the Council of States. Should the import of foie gras be banned or not? The parliamentarians were divided, as shown by their votes: 18 in favour, 18 against. So there was a casting vote. Council President Brigitte Häberli-Koller (64) had the last word and overturned the ban.
Originally, SVP Member of Parliament Martin Haab (61) had argued in the National Council for a ban. But apart from the National Council, nobody wanted to support the initiative. Both the responsible committee in the Council of States and the Federal Council decided: An import ban goes too far. Because: an import ban on foie gras is equivalent to a consumption ban. And there are no equivalent alternatives to import.
In Western Switzerland in particular, an import ban would damage a culinary tradition that is firmly anchored in society, the committee says. A ban would likely lead to circumvention of the law via France and a violation of international treaties.
For this reason, Council President Häberli-Koller changed Haab’s proposal so that the Federal Council would issue a declaration obligation for duck and foie gras. The Bundesrat had already announced at the end of April that it wanted to do this for foie gras and also for frogs’ legs.
A minority of the Council of States committee speaks of cruel fattening. This justifies a departure from international obligations. “Force-feeding with a piece of metal in the throat is certainly not WTO-compliant,” says Thomas Minder (62). The WTO is the World Trade Organization.
The amended motion now goes back to the first council. The National Council accepted the proposal in its original version in February 2022.
In Switzerland, signatures are currently being collected for a popular initiative to ban the import of foie gras. The Alliance Animale Suisse organization is behind the request. Stuffing birds is prohibited in Switzerland. According to the Alliance Animale Suisse, Switzerland imports 200,000 kilograms of foie gras annually. (SDA/rba)
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
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