Swiss to stage ‘historic’ vote on giving rights to primates

A SWISS region will ask citizens to vote on a proposal to incorporate the fundamental rights of primates into its constitution, after the supreme court ruled that the text was permissible.

The proposal, launched in 2016 by an animal-rights activist group called Sentience Politics, called for an amendment to the constitution in the northern half-canton of Basel City to include “fundamental rights to life for nonhuman primates”.

The animals are “highly complex beings, possessing an intrinsic, essential interest in living a life of bodily and mental integrity”, the group said.

Campaigners collected the required 100,000 signatures needed to put an issue to a popular vote in Switzerland’s direct democratic system. But the cantonal and city governments opposed a vote, warning that it could violate federal law.

A Basel court dismissed a complaint against the legality of the initiative last year, and yesterday Switzerland’s top court rejected an appeal.

“In principle, cantons can go further than the protections guaranteed by the federal constitution,” the court said in a statement.

“The initiative does not ask that federal rights accorded to humans be extended to animals, but is asking for the introduction of specific rights for non-human primates,” it added.

“While unusual, this does not itself contradict the superior law.”

Sentience Politics told the ATS news agency it was “thrilled at this historic decision”. However, it remains unclear when voters will have their say.