Following the "Positive Campaigning" idea of the organization, the campaign subjects focus on the turn for the better. They tell stories of rescued lionesses, street dogs or pigs, which are representative for the many pets, wild and farm animals whose fate Vier Pfoten has taken care of in the last 20 years.

The motifs open the true stories, while the background and rescue measures can be found on the anniversary landing page of Vier Pfoten: Four-paws.ch/20-years. The organization is celebrating its anniversary in the awareness that its animal welfare work is important and of particular significance, especially in the current situation. A major event for the public has been postponed until spring 2021 due to the current situation.

The two-wave campaign uses display ads, social media, DOOH, streetcar ads, and display ads. In September, the three existing visuals will be supplemented by two more. Thanks to the generous free space granted, the campaign will have a good reach. Mediaschneider is responsible for the media.

Karin Hawelka founded the animal welfare organization "Care for Dogs Foundation" in Thailand in 2005. With an international team of around 10 employees, she set up an animal shelter with almost 200 street dogs including a clinic, organized sterilization programmes, the treatment of injured or sick dogs, adoption programmes and campaigns. Through her personal commitment, she was able to make a significant contribution to improving animal welfare on the ground. After returning to Switzerland, she is now contributing her experience to Vier Pfoten.

"Together with Karin Hawelka, we want to position ourselves even more strongly in politics, business and the public as influential advocates for animals," says Alexandra Mandoki, Country Manager of Vier Pfoten Switzerland.

"Arosa is a pioneer and already shows with the Arosa Bärenland how animal welfare and tourism work together in an exemplary way. This advertising ban is a logical next step on this path," says Pascal Jenny, tourism director of Arosa, explaining the decision.

The animal welfare organization Vier Pfoten welcomes this step: "It really is a forward-looking message that Arosa no longer allows any advertising for fur products. Hopefully many Swiss tourism destinations and communities will follow this example. Arosa advertises sustainable tourism and impressively shows that it is putting its money where its mouth is," says a delighted Alexandra Mandoki, country director of Vier Pfoten Schweiz. According to the organization, the decision shows that ethical fashion and animal welfare have also gained enormous importance in tourism. Instead of real fur animal cruelty, modern consumers today also want sustainability and innovation in this area.

Every year, more than 100 million animals are killed by the fur industry. Mink, foxes and tanuki suffer in tiny wire cages on fur farms, while other species die a cruel death in traps. High amounts of dangerous chemicals are used to process fur into fur fashions. Vier Pfoten has been working internationally on the issue of fur for many years and is campaigning in Switzerland for a ban on the import of fur products.

Both trade and consumption of and with foie gras are flourishing in this country, because with more than 200 tons of foie gras imports every year, Switzerland is among the disgraceful top 5 largest foie gras importers worldwide. Vier Pfoten wants to counteract this and raise awareness on a large scale about the animal cruelty behind this supposed delicacy. On the occasion of World Anti-Foie Gras Day, the animal welfare organization is launching its new poster campaign and would like to encourage consumers to critically question their own consumption.

 

Status quo

In winter 2018/19, Vier Pfoten, together with the French-speaking Swiss organization Stop Gavage Suisse, commissioned a comprehensive survey on the subject of foie gras. The Swiss people speak clear words: more than three out of four people consider the production method of foie gras to be animal cruelty - and yet just under one in three people consumes foie gras at least once a year, mostly at Christmas. The fact that there is also animal-friendly produced foie gras is unfortunately a tragic misconception here, because stuffing is always associated with enormous animal suffering.

 

Even once a year is once too many

Even the supposedly negligible one-off consumption of foie gras at Christmas, for example, poses a major animal welfare problem. For Swiss consumption alone, an estimated one million ducks and geese suffer annually. Four Paws therefore appeals to consumers to reject foie gras consistently and without exception. Because: even once a year is once too much!

 

Hands off Magret and other stuffing mast products

It is also particularly alarming that a large majority of respondents do not know that magret (mostly de canard) is also produced by means of stuffing - and thus supports this to a large extent unknowingly and unwillingly. The labeling of goose and duck breast is crucial, because a distinction is made between fillet (unstuffed) and magret (stuffed).

Beware also of confit, graisse and gésier - these products also often come from stuffed fattening. Not to be forgotten, in addition to the meat, are the downs, because these can also come from stuffed (and live plucked) animals.

 

What is stuffing mast?

For foie gras, magret & co., ducks and geese are force-fed - literally stuffed - in the most brutal way until they almost die of exhaustion and are usually kept in the tiniest of cages. For up to three weeks and up to four times a day, a tube or hose is thrust deep into their esophagus and food is pumped directly into their stomachs. At slaughter maturity, their abnormally fatty livers weigh ten times their normal weight. Severe esophageal injuries, respiratory distress, and a mortality rate ten to twenty times higher often accompany this cruel practice.

The agency impressed the client with a campaign designed to raise awareness of Vier Photen throughout Switzerland and increase the willingness of various target groups to donate. The focus is on the commitment to wild, farm and domestic animals. 

"We benefit from our broad dialog experience with established B2C mechanisms, especially for such tasks," says Creative Director Stefan Dätwyler. In addition to Vier Pfoten, Wirz Activation also has various other non-profit organizations on its client list.

The new campaign by Vier Pfoten, Tier im Recht and ProTier underpins the demand for a legal ban on wild animals in circuses.
The 2019 circus season has begun and once again big cats have involuntarily found their way back into the circus ring. Although Switzerland boasts exemplary animal welfare legislation, it lags far behind the rest of the world when it comes to circuses: 28 European countries have already significantly restricted or even banned the use of wild animals in circuses. 

In contrast, the three animal welfare organizations criticize in a joint press release that in Germany circuses are even allowed to fall massively below the minimum requirements of animal welfare legislation, which zoos, for example, must adhere to. 

For Vanessa Gerritsen from the Foundation for Animals in the Law (TIR), one thing is clear: "Dubious dressage methods and unnatural and often humiliating tricks violate the dignity of animals." Instead of giving these animal species, which are often under severe pressure in their habitat, the protection they urgently need, they are humanized in circus performances and shown as fun birds, beasts or cuddly animals.

"The fact that wild animals in circuses are no longer ethically acceptable is shown by the petition with over 70,000 signatures that we submitted to the Federal Council in March 2018. This petition finally calls for a national ban on wild animals in circuses in Switzerland too," says Monika Wasenegger from ProTier. In its reply, the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) explained that the strict legal regulations take sufficient account of animal welfare in Swiss wild animal husbandry and that there is therefore no need to ban wild animals in circuses. This means that it is still up to the circus companies to comply with animal welfare requirements - which is simply unacceptable from an animal welfare perspective. 

Lucia Oeschger from Vier Pfoten clarifies: "The breeding of wild animals such as lions and tigers specifically for the entertainment industry is definitely not justifiable from an animal welfare perspective. The petition's concerns are by no means off the table, but will be pursued with renewed vigor." 

This year, the three animal welfare organizations Vier Pfoten, Tier im Recht and ProTier want to emphasize the demand once again with the expressive campaign, which was created through a cooperation between Viva Colores Switzerland and Nachtlicht Creative. The public and parliament are to be further informed about the lifelong suffering experienced by wild animals in circuses so that a legal ban can finally be implemented. (hae/pd)

Since mid-March, Chantal Häberling has now been heading the communications team at the Swiss country office. In her role, she supports the animal protection organization in further expanding brand awareness and perception.

Häberling most recently served as marketing and communications manager at PlotFactory. In this role, she was responsible for the marketing and communications strategy of the advertising technology company. She has now returned to Vier Pfoten, where she previously worked in the same position from 2013 to 2015. "The communication and marketing tasks in animal welfare are innovative as well as exciting. The development opportunities in the NGO sector suit my inclinations and strengths more than the industrial environment. In addition, the work for Vier Pfoten is a matter of the heart," Häberling states in a statement as the reason for the change.

Gerald Dick, Country Director of Vier Pfoten Switzerland, comments on the new appointment as follows: "With Chantal Häberling, Vier Pfoten Schweiz was able to gain an experienced personality with broad experience in both communications and marketing. An important part of her work will be the further expansion of media relations in Switzerland."

On Tuesday, Arosa Tourism, the animal welfare organization Vier Pfoten and the local mountain railroads presented the concept for the Arosa Bear Sanctuary. This was given the green light by the population at the ballot box in November 2016.

The 2.8-hectare outdoor enclosure, which is due to be completed by July 2018, will be inhabited by former dancing and circus bears that Vier Pfoten freed from miserable captivity in southern and western Europe. So-called "problem bears", which have been shot in the past, will not be settled in the park in future either, as co-project manager Hans Schmid explains to Blick: "Including wild bears is very controversial". There will also be no cubs - Arosa Bear Sanctuary will be more of "a retirement home for mistreated animals", says Schmid.

It's not just the maltreated inhabitants who are looking forward to Bear Country, but also the local population and, above all, tourism. Equipped with additional attractions such as nature trails, minigolf, a themed playground and a viewing platform, the project should attract numerous new visitors to Graubünden.

This is especially true in summer, as 90 percent of all guests currently visit the region in winter. The Bären retirement home should increase the proportion of summer guests from 10 to 30 percent, as tourism director Pascal Jenny tells Blick. "We are hoping for a quick go-ahead for the building permit," he hopes.

"Snow culture" will disappear

Co-project manager Stephan Oetiker is also convinced of the necessity and the effect on summer tourism. Although the number of tourists is steadily increasing worldwide, mountain tourism is losing ground, he pointed out at the Information event last September. The new tourist magnets are, among other things, the cities. "This macro trend is a call for change, for innovation," he warns. The second macro trend - above-average rising temperatures - leads to macro trend three: less snow. The average snow depth at an altitude of 1,500 meters is likely to have decreased by around 85 percent by the end of the 21st century, while at 2,500 meters it is still 35 percent. As a result of this development, the population will also lose its "snow culture" over time. This means that sooner or later, it will no longer matter how much snow there is in the mountain regions because most people will no longer be interested in it. "The popular sport of skiing will no longer exist in Switzerland in 50 or 60 years," Oetiker is convinced.

Making a virtue out of necessity

However, this development is a great opportunity for Arosa, as long as we are prepared to make certain innovations possible. Combined with a strong offer in summer that appeals to different target groups, Arosa is ideally equipped for a type of tourism that does not yet exist: Heat tourism. "I guarantee you that the people who visit Paris and London today will no longer be going there in 30 years' time!" Because the average temperature there in the summer months will be 42 to 45 degrees. "People will flock to the mountains," predicts Oetiker. "Not just for the mountains, but primarily to enjoy the lower temperatures".

The bear park in Arosa is one of the projects designed to prepare the mountain region for the future and position it optimally. A "project of the century", as it is described by those responsible. If Oetiker's comments are to be believed, the forced shift from winter to summer tourism could become a great opportunity for Switzerland.

"A top-class experience"

It is understandable that Switzerland Tourism has also campaigned for the bear project in advance. "I am convinced that the strong "bear" theme in Arosa can be translated into added value for tourism," says Director Jürg Schmid on the portal Arosa.tv. "Bear country is an innovation, as it brings an animal with a myth into a dreamlike mountain world - a top-class experience." Tourism is an experience industry. "You have to give people reasons to travel," Schmid is convinced.

With projects such as Bärenland, Destination Switzerland offers guests these reasons decades before the onset of heat tourism. (hae)

More and more people in Switzerland are buying animals via online platforms. At the same time, cases of fraud and animal cruelty in connection with the Internet animal trade are increasing. To mark the launch of the new "Tatort Internet" campaign, Vier Pfoten asked the online platforms Tutti.ch, Anibis.ch and Preso.ch what their policy on animal ads is and what they are doing specifically to prevent abuse and crime. Conclusion: The leading Swiss classifieds platforms have recognized the problem and are trying to stem the tide of dubious offers on their sites with various measures.

"Vier Pfoten is in constructive talks with the large platforms Tutti.ch and Anibis.ch in order to establish safety measures that are as comprehensive as possible," says Lucia Oeschger, campaign manager of Vier Pfoten Schweiz. Measures should protect animals and consumers "We have drawn up a very concrete catalog of measures that we have presented to the platforms," says Oeschger. "From the responses, you can see how seriously the companies take both animal and consumer protection." The measures include close scrutiny of sellers, mandatory information on the animal itself such as information on health, exact age, etc., as well as a precise listing of all animals that are not allowed to be sold. The latter include primates, numerous wild animals, pregnant animals and animals that are too young. According to Vier Pfoten, the comparison of the platforms is intended to give consumers a certain orientation and awareness of which considerations are important in connection with animal welfare, but also with fraud prevention. "Unfortunately, we cannot prevent animals from being purchased online in Switzerland or elsewhere. But it is important to us that animals are not simply seen as goods, but as sentient beings. People need to know that there is an extreme amount of abuse going on here," says Oeschger.

Research in ten countries reveals many cases of fraud

For the international campaign "Tatort Internet", Vier Pfoten conducted research in ten countries. In Switzerland, too, buyers were repeatedly confronted with cases of fraud; often the newly acquired animal died after a few days or consumers suffered considerable financial damage due to veterinary costs as a result of such a purchase. "There are countless problems," Oeschger sums it up. "However, lack of advice, dubious sources and animal cruelty are the most serious."

Finally, Vier Pfoten would like to point out in a press release that animal shelters also often have their own websites where interested parties can search for animal companions. Countless animals are waiting there for loving owners. Four paws recommends generally to turn with the acquisition of an animal first to the overcrowded Swiss animal homes.