Antoine François Goetschel (born 1958) is a Swiss lawyer who has focused on animal rights law. In cases involving animal abuse, he was appointed to defend the rights of the animal in question. He played a prominent role lobbying for the unsuccessful

March 2010 Swiss referendum Six referendums were held in Switzerland during 2010; three in March on pension funds, animal protection and a constitutional amendment, one in September on unemployment benefits, and two in November on deporting foreign criminals and introducing ...

which would have provided legal representation to all animals involved in Swiss court cases.

Career

Goetschel serves as the animal advocate for the

canton of Zurich Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

. In 2007 he was appointed by the canton government to represent the interests of animals in

animal cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or su ...

cases. In this capacity, he attempts to insure that the Swiss animal protection laws, which are among the strictest in the world, are correctly enforced. Goetschel does not bring charges in this role, but rather focuses on explaining law, evaluating precedent, and appealing verdicts. He says that a third of his legal work is devoted to cases involving animals and the rest of his time is spent in private practice. His work has been praised by

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular ...

. In 2011, the office of Zurich animal advocate was abolished and the canton veterinary office took charge of animal cruelty cases. Goetschel plans to continue to advocate for animal rights causes by writing books on the subject.

Notable cases

Most of Goetschel's cases involve abuse of domestic pets, such as the case in which he secured a large fine against a woman who abandoned two kittens shortly after purchasing them. Goetschel has represented a variety of animals during his tenure as an animal lawyer, however. In February 2010, he argued on behalf of a pike that was caught by an angler. He made the case that the amount of time the angler had spent fighting the fish caused the fish to "suffer excessively." Although the court ruled against him, he is currently appealing the judgment. He has also prosecuted on behalf of fish that were used in a game show episode in which contestants attempted to catch them by hand, arguing that the contestants did not treat the fish with the dignity they deserved. He ultimately lost the case on a technicality.

Animal rights

Goetschel became interested in animal rights at age 23 after an accident left him temporarily unable to speak. This experience caused him to reflect on animal suffering. He later became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

and became active in the

animal rights movement The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, ...

. He has played a prominent role in lobbying for Swiss animal rights legislation. Although not officially a representative of the campaign, he devoted much of his time to lobbying on behalf of the March 2010 Swiss animal law referendum. Had it passed, it would have led to the Swiss government hiring other animal advocates in addition to Goetschel. He also lobbied on behalf of 2003 law which led to animals being treated as

sentient Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...

beings, rather than property, in Swiss law.

References

External links

Website of Goetschel's legal practice
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goetschel, Antoine Living people 1958 births Animal lawyers Swiss animal rights activists 20th-century Swiss lawyers 21st-century Swiss lawyers

Career

Notable cases

Animal rights

See also

References

External links