Swiss to vote in national poll on banning factory farming

Campaign posters in Zurich. On the left it reads: ‘Get out of factory farming – yes.’ On the right it says: ‘More imports instead of regional food? No.’ Photograph: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Swiss voters will vote on Sunday on whether to ban factory farming as unconstitutional and end imports of intensively farmed meat.

The latest polling shows 52% of voters oppose a ban, and 47% support one. If the factory-farming ballot initiative is passed, Switzerland’s constitution, which already protects the “welfare and dignity of animals”, would be modified to include an animal’s right “not to be intensively farmed”, and new laws would lower animal stocking rates to meet organic standards.