Overview: How does the reporting system work in Switzerland?
In Switzerland, animal welfare violations can often be reported anonymously or confidentially to the cantonal veterinary offices. The aim of the authorities is to keep the inhibition threshold for reporting low so that abuses are identified at an early stage.
Key points:
- Cantonal practice: Many cantonal veterinary offices (e.g. Bern) expressly permit anonymous reports.
- Purpose: The authorities emphasize that without reports from the public, many animal welfare shortcomings would go undetected.
- Confidentiality: Even if the name is known, it is regularly treated confidentially towards the person concerned or blacked out in the files.
Access to files: Will names be disclosed?
The right to inspect files is governed by the cantonal laws on the administration of administrative justice. While identities are often kept secret to protect against retaliation, examples such as the canton of Bern show an important nuance: anyone who provides their contact details in the notification form must expect these to become part of the case files. As affected animal owners are generally granted access to these files, the identity of the reporter is usually not concealed in this case. Only those who explicitly select “remain anonymous” protect their data – but must then also formulate the text of the report in such a neutral way that no conclusions can be drawn about their person.
Limits of anonymity and procedural nuances
Anonymity does not mean absolute protection. In certain constellations, identity can become relevant:
- Criminal proceedings: If the veterinary office forwards the case to the public prosecutor’s office, witness statements may be necessary.
- Special feature in Zurich: In practice in Zurich, the veterinary office may only report a report to the public prosecutor’s office if the person making the report expressly agrees to their data being passed on. Without this consent, the public prosecutor’s office often lacks key evidence, which makes criminal prosecution considerably more difficult.
- Duty to testify: Employees of the authorities may have to testify as to how a report was made, although the protection of confidentiality also sets high hurdles here.
What to do in the event of unfounded or malicious reports?
If you are confronted with accusations that you believe to be false, you need to act quickly.
- Legal advice before making a statement: Before you make a statement to the authorities, you should always seek legal advice. An ill-considered statement without legal examination can have a negative impact on the further course of the proceedings and the assessment of your reliability.
- Forensic perspective: Reports are often not based on malicious lies, but on subjective misperceptions. You can find more information on this in our article on the psychology of false accusations.
Knowingly false accusations: The role of the state
Criminal offenses such as false accusation (Art. 303 StGB) or misleading the administration of justice (Art. 304 StGB) only come into consideration if a report is demonstrably and deliberately false.
Important to know:
- Burden of proof: In criminal proceedings, the burden of proof lies with the state. The public prosecutor’s office must prove that the accused (the declarant) acted intentionally and knowingly wrongly.
- Responding to accusations: If you want to defend yourself against false allegations, read our guide to the correct behavior in the event of false accusations.
Deadline management: why “non-compliance” is dangerous
You will encounter various deadlines in the procedure with the veterinary office. Any failure to do so can have far-reaching consequences for you and your animal.
Official or judicial deadlines (e.g. for a statement)
These deadlines serve to clarify the facts. Veterinary authorities often regard ignoring these deadlines (non-compliance) as a lack of cooperation or reliability in animal husbandry. Be sure to consult a lawyer before making such a statement.
Time limits for appeal
If a ruling has already been issued, the statutory appeal period begins.
- Urgency: These deadlines are often very short – in the canton of St. Gallen, for example, the deadline for an appeal is just 14 days. As time limits for appeals cannot be extended, you should seek legal advice immediately after receiving an official notification.
- Strict compliance: appeal deadlines cannot be extended. If you miss the deadline, you lose the right to defend yourself against the measure. You should therefore seek legal advice immediately after receiving an official notification. Further details can be found in our article on the ruling from the veterinary office.
Have you received mail from the veterinary office?
Have you been reported to the veterinary office and would now like to know how you can defend yourself? Don’t wait until official measures massively restrict your animal husbandry.
Our lawyers in Winterthur, who specialize in animal law and administrative law, are familiar with the practices of the veterinary authorities and can help you to protect your rights in proceedings. We help you to formulate statements precisely and strategically fend off unjustified accusations.
We offer a detailed initial consultation (1 hour at CHF 330.-), on site or via video call. Together we analyze your situation and clarify the next strategic steps.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about the disclosure of a declarant's identity by the veterinary authorities
This depends on how the report was made. If the veterinary office allows anonymous reports and the person has not left any contact details, the authority itself does not know the identity – disclosure is then impossible. If, on the other hand, the identity is known to the office, the balance of interests under cantonal law determines whether the data remains confidential or is disclosed as part of the inspection of files.
Yes, many cantonal veterinary offices allow animal welfare violations to be reported without providing personal details. In these cases, existing contact fields in the form are deleted or not filled in at all.
Not mandatory. If you provide your name, it will often become part of the case file and may be visible to the animal owner when the file is inspected (e.g. in the canton of Bern). If no data is provided, the person remains unknown, but the identity can be “factually” guessed from the content of the report (e.g. description of observations from a specific perspective).
Yes, the right to inspect files is a core component of the right to be heard. You may inspect the files on which the office bases its decision. If the informant is known to the Office but wishes to remain anonymous, the relevant passages in the files will be blacked out. If no data is known to the Office, there is simply no sender to be discovered in the files.
You can primarily defend yourself against the official measures (orders). Action against the reporting person is only possible if their identity is known and there is evidence of knowing misconduct (intent). This usually requires the initiation of criminal proceedings by the public prosecutor’s office.
Yes, anyone who knowingly makes false accusations in order to initiate proceedings may be liable to prosecution for false accusation (Art. 303 StGB) or misleading the administration of justice (Art. 304 StGB). However, as the burden of proof lies with the state and intent is difficult to prove, convictions in this area are rare.
Matthias Fricker
Attorney at law and partner at Fricker and Füllemann Attorneys at Law
Studied at the University of St. Gallen, graduating with a Master in Law (M.A. HSG in Law) in 2012, registered in the Bar Register of the Canton of Zurich, member of the Zurich Bar Association.
Fabian Füllemann
Attorney at law and partner at Fricker and Füllemann Attorneys at Law
Studied at the Universities of St. Gallen and Zurich, graduating with a Master of Law UZH in 2013, registered with the Zurich Bar Registry, member of the Zurich Bar Association.
