Switzerland: Federal Council recommends rejecting the ‘Stopfleber’ people's initiative

By 28 December 2023, more than 100,000 signatures had been collected for the ‘Stopfleber’ (foie gras) people's initiative, which calls for a ban on the import of foie gras products. The initiators (Alliance Animale Suisse) had argued that the cruel production of foie gras in Switzerland itself had been banned for animal welfare reasons for over 40 years. In order to make this ban more effective and to protect fair competition in favour of Swiss farmers, the import of foie gras products should also be banned, according to the initiators.

Now, on 20 November 2024, the Federal Council recommends in its message that this idea of an import ban be rejected. It argues that international treaties (customs and trade agreements) would be violated and that Swiss customers have the freedom to consume.