Should abused animals have legal representatives in court?

AI-generated summary, admin reviewed: This initiative required each region to appoint an animal-protection lawyer to represent the interests of abused or neglected animals in criminal proceedings. Supporters argued that animals needed independent legal representation because alleged offenders could have lawyers while affected animals could not defend their own interests. Opponents argued that existing prosecutors, specialist authorities and animal-welfare laws were sufficient and that mandatory animal lawyers would add unnecessary costs and bureaucracy. Swiss voters rejected the initiative.

Seed source: Swissvotes federal popular vote dataset.
Swissvotes page: https://swissvotes.ch/vote/549.00
Official result data: https://bk.admin.ch/de/details-volksinitiativen?voteNumber=549
Vote date: 2010-03-07
Original Swissvotes English title: Initiative for an Animal Lawyer
Original German title: Tierschutzanwalt-Initiative
Original French title: Initiative pour l'institution d'un avocat de la protection des animaux
Année Politique Suisse description: https://anneepolitique.swiss/prozesse/17161
BFS result map (German): https://mapexplorer.bfs.admin.ch/?obs=politic&lang=de#c=indicator&i=vp20100307.prop_oui_549_0
BFS result map (French): https://mapexplorer.bfs.admin.ch/?obs=politic&lang=fr#c=indicator&i=vp20100307.prop_oui_549_0
Official chronology (French): https://bk.admin.ch/fr/details-initiatives-populaires?voteNumber=549