Update: The initiative was initially declared invalid, but our supporters decided to litigate. This Wednesday, the Swiss federal court ruled that the initiative is valid! I.e., the court has confirmed that primates could in principle be holders of basic rights, and the city of Basel will have a ballot vote on whether primates deserve basic rights. This made front page headlines in all major Swiss newspapers. There’s a decent chance of it passing, and if it does, that would make Basel one of the first places in the world where nonhuman animals hold basic rights.
Update: The initiative was initially declared invalid, but our supporters decided to litigate. This Wednesday, the Swiss federal court ruled that the initiative is valid! I.e., the court has confirmed that primates could in principle be holders of basic rights, and the city of Basel will have a ballot vote on whether primates deserve basic rights. This made front page headlines in all major Swiss newspapers. There’s a decent chance of it passing, and if it does, that would make Basel one of the first places in the world where nonhuman animals hold basic rights.
Some media coverage in English:
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/voters-to-decide-on-basic-rights-of-primates/46037828
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8744207/Switzerland-region-vote-giving-primates-fundamental-constitutional-rights.html
Some coverage in German:
https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/grundrechte-fuer-affen-bundesgericht-erklaert-basler-primaten-initiative-fuer-zulaessig
https://www.20min.ch/story/haben-affen-in-basel-bald-menschenrechte-581046338538
https://www.nzz.ch/schweiz/primaten-initiative-ist-laut-bundesgericht-zulaessig-ld.1576944