What is it about?

In the beautiful Switzerland a lot of cheese is made. The milk comes out of cows, which are not horned and certainly not horned as on the milk pack. About 90% of these animals may not have horns. They were burned out as little calves. A painful mutilation, which disturbed the mountain farmer Armin Capaul so much that he turned to the politicians. However, these were not heard for his concerns. In Switzerland, however, it is possible to apply for an amendment to the constitution through an initiative. To do this, 100,000 signatures must be collected and certified on time. So Armin Capaul only had this opportunity to make his voice heard and he launched the "Horn Cow Initiative". There were 120,000 signatures and now the Swiss people may decide on 25 November 2018 whether to adapt the Constitution in favor of the horned animals.

The initiative is based entirely on the voluntary and promotion of horned animals.
She does not pronounce a ban on dehorning. The decision on dehorning remains with the animal owner.

The initiative encourages farming families to keep their animals horned.
They receive a fair compensation for their additional expenses.

• Horn-bearing animals need more space. There are fewer animals in the same barn, which reduces income.
• Horn-bearing animals need a more intense human relationship. The animal owners need more time for them.
• The implementation costs about 15 million francs. This fits good in the existing agricultural budget of CHF 3,000 million per year. It does not have to be increased.

Appearances are deceptive.

• Today only about 10% of cows in Switzerland still wear their horns. But in advertising, they are everywhere.

The initiative strengthens the dignity and integrity of the animals

• The horn is part of the body. As a perfused and sensitive organ, it serves cows and goats for communication, metabolism and body care.
• Dehorning, on the other hand, is a very painful procedure. In 2016, the University of Bern found in an investigation that 20% of dehorn calves suffer from long-term pain.
• With your Yes, more owners will keep on horned animals.

It started with an open letter to the Federal Office for Agriculture. After further letters, Hornfesten, a poster campaign, a petition and countless media reports, it is now the horn cow initiative taking care about.

--> letters (german)
--> Chronicle
--> The initiative in the Federal Palace (german)