Animal welfare Declaration obligation instead of import ban for foie gras

The Federal Council rejects the popular initiative "Yes to a ban on foie gras imports" without a counter-proposal. It adopted the dispatch to Parliament on Wednesday, reaffirming its position on the issue.

However, the concerns of the petition for a referendum are to be addressed by introducing a declaration obligation, Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told the media in Bern. The Federal Council will do this by amending the ordinance. This should come into force in mid-2025.

From an animal welfare perspective, the concerns of the initiative are understandable, the Federal Council wrote in its press release. However, an import ban would hardly be compatible with Switzerland's international trade agreements.

The Federal Council had already determined the direction of travel on this issue in April. The foie gras initiative aims to ban the import of products from the stuffing of poultry by amending the constitution. In addition to foie gras, products such as confit or magret would also be affected.

SDA