Achievements

• In 2003, Swiss law finally went from qualifying animals as objects to recognizing them as independent living beings;
  
  

• Since 2008, the Swiss Animal Welfare Act explicitly protects the dignity of animals;
  
  

• The competent law enforcement authorities are taking animal cruelty and other animal welfare-related offenses much more seriously than in the past and the number of corresponding criminal proceedings has risen significantly throughout Switzerland;
  
  

• In 2009, the Federal Supreme Court dealt with animal experiments for the first time and prohibited certain experiments on primates, thus profoundly influencing licensing practices;
  
  

• The import of dolphins and whales into Switzerland was prohibited in 2013;
  
  

• In 2006, political and societal tendencies of hostility towards dogs were prevented from being hastily adopted into federal law.
  
  

• The new Swiss animal welfare legislation explicitly prohibited sexual activities with animals in 2008;
  
  

• Animal welfare law is no longer perceived as a marginal topic, but is now recognized by attorneys-at-law and academics as an independent subject;
  

• Authorities can make use of valuable enforcement tools, which TIR, with the help of external experts, develops and makes available in the form of specialized publications and online services;
  
  
• The TIR library, with the largest literary collection in the German-speaking area on animals in law, ethics, and society, is open to the interested public and free of charge;
  
  

• All Swiss criminal decisions regarding animal welfare law that have been reported to the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) since 1982 are registered in a comprehensive database and can be retrieved free of charge in anonymized form;
  
  

• Students and practitioners are increasingly interested in animal welfare law, are specializing in the relevant fields, and are contributing to its development through academic work;
  
  

• Thanks to the various services provided by TIR, animal owners are fully informed and in a position to better assume their great responsibility towards their animals.