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There have been stories lately of a petition presented to the Swiss government asking them to outlaw the eating of cats and dogs.

This BBC article includes a claim from Tomi Tomek that 3% of the Swiss population eats cat or dog meat.

A petition with 16,000 signatures has been handed to the Swiss parliament, calling for the government to stop people eating "domestic animals".

"Around three percent of the Swiss secretly eat cat or dog," said Tomi Tomek, founder and president of animal protection group SOS Chats Noiraigue.

Cat appears on traditional Christmas menus in some areas of Switzerland.

Is there any evidence to support this claim?

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Ladadadada
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  • Are you actually asking if there is anyone eating cats (which to my knowledge is true, or at least has been in the past. They also used "dog grease" for treating rheuma) or if it really is 3% ? – PlasmaHH Nov 27 '14 at 12:01
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    I'm specifically asking about the 3% figure. – Ladadadada Nov 27 '14 at 12:25
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    I doubt that there would be any hard numbers, even those that claim the 3% admit in variuos interviews that those are rough estimates based on asking people in rural areas. – PlasmaHH Nov 27 '14 at 12:27
  • Not really an answer, because of the bad source, but accordig to this news paper the 3% were more an estimate from Tomek without fundation (http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/news/story/-Schweizer-sind-Katzenfresser--15562828). – magu_ Nov 27 '14 at 13:17
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    @magu_: the more I read about it, the more I think it is "3% of people are old generations living in rural areas, so its probablly all of them eating cats because its tradition" – PlasmaHH Nov 27 '14 at 14:38
  • @PlasmaHH. True, but as you said its hard to find evidence on something like that. From personal experience (I grew up there, on the countryside, on one of the named territories) I can only say its seems very unlikely. There might single individuals or families eating cats and dogs but I do not believe that this number is anywhere accurate. One consider is that Tomek is trying to get signatures to prohibit the consumption of said animals and therefore looking for media attention. Again this is not hard evidence. – magu_ Nov 27 '14 at 15:30
  • I suspect that it's more likely that the areas where dog or cat have traditionally been eaten represents 3% of Switzerland. (Also bear in mind that until fairly recently, the Swiss 'peasants' were incredibly poor.) – Benjol Nov 28 '14 at 06:24

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No, according to the Swiss Ambassador to New Zealand Dr. David Volgensanger, in Dog-eating an exaggerated myth

I categorically state that this is not at all a widespread Swiss habit and that the 3 per cent (that would make 130,000 Kiwis) are totally made up.

Another source says:

the three percent figure comes from a survey conducted by Swiss media in which they asked “would you” and “could you” eat a cat.

so the 3% did not represent actual eating, but hypothetical eating under hypothetical circumstance.

DavePhD
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