The Local Switzerland

EU migration to affordable housing: All you need to know about Switzerland's crucial spring referendums

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 18:47:03 +0100

From limiting migration to changes in childcare tax allowances, the newly-announced referendums contain several important proposals. Here’s what you need to know.

Runaway flamingo turns up in Bern’s historic old town

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:50:51 +0200

The Swiss capital received a surprise visitor on Monday night in the form of a flamingo.

WATCH: Swiss water police rescue drowning deer

Tue, 01 May 2018 13:46:31 +0200

Water police in the Swiss canton of Zug were called into action on Monday afternoon to rescue a deer in difficulties. An expat in the area caught the incident on camera.

Brown bear strolls across Swiss ski slope

Wed, 11 Apr 2018 15:42:13 +0200

Workers at the Engelberg Titlis ski area in central Switzerland witnessed a highly unusual spectacle on Monday morning when a brown bear passed close by.

14 guinea pigs found abandoned at recycling centre

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 10:42:22 +0100

An animal rescue centre is looking for homes for 14 guinea pigs found dumped at a recycling centre in Vevey in the canton of Vaud.

Swiss cooks ordered to stun lobsters before boiling

Wed, 10 Jan 2018 22:17:22 +0100

The Swiss government on Wednesday ordered an end to the common culinary practice of throwing flailing lobsters into boiling water, ruling that they must be knocked out before they are killed.

Missing Swiss cat turns up 600km away in Germany

Fri, 30 Sep 2016 14:28:00 +0200

A family's much-loved cat who went missing from her home in the north-eastern Swiss city of St Gallen more than a year ago has been found 600 kilometres away in Bonn, Germany.

Swiss farmers offered cat castration vouchers

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 13:04:45 +0200

The animal protection association Quatre Pattes has offered to pay for farmers to get their cats neutered in an attempt to cut down the growing number of stray cats in Switzerland.

Zurich firemen use crane to haul old elephant to her feet

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:01:57 +0200

Firemen were called to Zurich Zoo on Tuesday afternoon to help a 49-year-old elephant who had been pushed over by her herdmates and couldn’t get up again.

Swiss police save horse in dramatic river rescue

Fri, 22 Jan 2016 11:16:51 +0100

An afternoon walk almost turned to tragedy on Thursday when a rider fell from his horse, causing the animal to slip into the Rhône.

Snakes found dumped in garbage pile

Mon, 30 Dec 2013 10:17:00 +0100

A worker at a refuse disposal plant near Zurich had a shock when she opened a plastic bag to find it contained five living snakes.

More bears, wolves on the prowl in Switzerland

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:35:00 +0200

Wild animals including bears, wolves and jackals are on the increase in Switzerland, a government agency said Friday, as it reported a spike in the figures across the country.

'Dog hater' spiking sausages with nails

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:38:00 +0200

Police are hunting a dog-hater in Solothurn, who has been sticking nails into pieces of sausage and leaving them for animals to find.

Penguins get stressed by humans: Swiss study

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:48:00 +0200

Humans make king penguins stressed, but the regal birds chill out over time as they get more used to people's presence, a Swiss study shows.

Heat-seeking drone saves fawns' lives

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:46:00 +0200

Swiss researchers are working on creating drones that use thermal imaging to detect fawns nestled in fields that are due to be mown by farmers.

France to ban Swiss pesticide as bee threat

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0200

The French government is to ban a pesticide made by Swiss giant Syngenta used in rapeseed cultivation that has been found to shorten bees' lifespan, Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said on Friday.

Basel smuggler strapped baby croc to thigh

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:23:54 +0200

When customs officials in Basel examined the trousers of a passing motorist recently, they were surprised to find a baby caiman crocodile taped to his thigh.

Swiss circus forces chubby elephants to diet

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:21:00 +0100

Three overweight elephants at a Swiss circus will have to diet and work out in order to shed between 50 and 300 kilograms, Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported Wednesday.

Meat-eating animals lose taste for sweets: study

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 09:56:00 +0100

European and US scientists said on Monday that many meat-eating animals appear to lose their ability to taste sweet flavours over time, a finding that suggests diet plays a key role in evolution.

Donor mails $53,000 in cash to Swiss animal agency

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:47:00 +0100

An anonymous animal lover mailed 50,000 francs ($53,000) in cash to an animal protection agency to help finance a new visitors' centre, the group said on Tuesday.