"Das Bundesgericht hat am 26. September 2008 entschieden, dass die am 12. September 2007 beschlossene Änderung des thurgauischen Gesetzes über das Halten von Hunden, die unter anderem den Einzug eines Hundes bzw. dessen Fremdplatzierung als Mittel zur Durchsetzung der finanziellen Verpflichtungen des Hundehalters vorsieht, gesetzeskonform und damit zulässig ist. Die Regelung verstösst nicht gegen das Schuldbetreibungsrecht, da sie nicht als unmittelbare Massnahme zur Vollstreckung einer Geldleistungspflicht dient, sondern ein indirektes Druckmittel im Sinne eines administrativen Rechtsnachteils. Es liegt somit kein Verstoss gegen das bundesrechtliche Pfändungs- und Retentonsverbot von Heimtieren vor (BGE 134 I 293). "
Essentially, the federal court allowed the TG law to stand because the threat of seizure is considered not direct enforcement but rather an indirect administrative pressure - and therefore does not violate the federal law against seizing pet animals for debt collection.
If any of you legal eagles could explain that bit of twisted logic (or correct my understanding of the decision - my German is not what it should be) I would be very grateful.
Will be interesting to see if challenges are made to the Reconvilier measure.
I believe the phrase is 'You've been Switzerlanded!'
(Thanks to the multiplier used in my gemeinde, the muttley crew gets hit for CHF 700 per year.)
Seriously, though - it's the 'user pays' philosophy. It is possible to keep general income taxes low (or low-ish, depending on where you live) because many services are funded by directly taxing those who use them. Someone's got to clean the Robidogs, run the ANIS database, staff the local animal control office, - and that someone needs to be paid a salary.
According to yesterday's paper, the last time an "execution" was carried out (back in the '50s), the bobby just turned up at the house and shot the dog.
Animal shelters putting down animals that would otherwise be running wild on the streets is quite different than someone coming into your home and putting a bullet into Fidos head because you forgot to pay a bill
Well, theoretically speaking, if 100 of those dog owners should have paid 100 CHF per year for 10 years, then you'd get to a hundred thousand. The rest must be reminder charges, non-payment penalties, added interest and administration charges
But I agree, threatening to kill the pet sounds like nothing other than extortion. I guess they'll just threaten to confiscate and hold the dog and that'll be enough to force the owners to cough up.
We got our reminder in the Post today - so it would be difficult to 'forget'. One of the farmers here refused to register his dog for years - dogs should be vaccinated and chipped and evidence produced when you go and pay the dog tax. So the cost can be a lot more than 100CHF if you have to do that first. He was given an ultimatum by the Commune/Gemeinde- refused to pay and the farmer shot the dog himself in front of the Administrator. Nice chap. Sadly this poor dog had been causing a lot of problems in the village, straying and attacking both other dogs and people - and had been tied up by the cow shed for a whole year! In a way it was a relief to know the poor animal's suffering was over. If a Commune has many who refuse to pay for years - maybe they want to make the point very strongly- which will act as a deterrent. I agree it sounds really nasty.
I have no objection at all to paying a dog tax- where we were in the UK there were so many strays. This tax hopefully reduces that incidence. The Commune also provides dog bag/bins all over the area and will deal with complaints about unruly dogs, etc.
Actually, I heard Sweden also has a dog tax, and the amount of tax paid is directly related to the height of the dog, so Swedes prefer daschounds and other dogs that are low to the ground in order to pay less taxes!
A tax/fee also exists in Australia, although there it's called a license fee. You receive a tag that is attached to the collar. It is quite cheap if the dog is neutered
What an excellent idea to make it cheaper for neutered dogs. Brilliant. Many people in rural France or Switzerland do not 'believe' in having dogs neutered, with catastrophic consequences = 1000s of unwanted dogs.
I am surprised the dog eating habits of central CH has not been discussed before. In 1917, my dad's Bernese Shepherd dog disappeared (dad was 5) - he looked for him everywhere but he just could not be found. Two days later when he returned with his older brother from another foray to look for him - there was meet cooking in every pot - and they had lots for dinner - the family had not had any meat for a couple of years. His brother told him the next day, after another fill at lunchtime. His relationship with his dad never recovered- although in those circumstances perhaps it was justified. It is extremely shocking that this happens in CH right now - and that Bernese are bred for that purpose.