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Swiss farmers are worried. Not only are they suffering from sharply falling incomes, but they also have to contend with consumers cutting back on food.

“Most farmers are rather disillusioned. At a time when everything is getting more expensive, people seem to be saving on food first and foremost,” Markus Ritter, president of the Swiss Farmers’ Union, told the media at the organisation’s start-of-year press conference on Wednesday. ...

The vast majority of Switzerland’s 26 cantons have done little or nothing to implement the new law on cycle routes, criticises Pro Velo.

This law, which has been in force since January 1, 2023, imposes obligations and deadlines on the cantons.

The new law requires the cantons to plan networks of cycle routes by the end of 2027 and to build them by the end of 2042, Pro Velo, the association that defends the interests of cyclists, pointed out in a press release on Wednesday. ...

The number of flights in and out of Switzerland’s biggest airport increased by 14.5% in 2023, but activity is still 10% lower than pre-pandemic years.

A total of 241,005 aircraft took off and landed in Zurich last year, according to figures from the airport website analysed by news agency AWP. In 2019, it was 268,968.

In the wake of travel restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus in 2020, flights had plummeted to 40% of the 2019 level. Since then, traffic has steadily recovered – in 2022, the gap compared to 2019 was still around a fifth. ...

A normal train service can resume between Brig in southwestern Switzerland and Domodossola in Italy. This follows a decision by the Italian authorities to extend by one year a deadline for implementing new fire protection measures for railway tunnels.

It had been reported on December 29 that certain train services between Switzerland and Italy would be cancelled due to a missing fire protection authorisation from the Italian authorities.

But on January 1 the Keystone-SDA news agency reported that the Italian authorities had extended by one year the deadline for implementing new fire protection measures required for railway tunnels. ...

One in five new cars (20.9%) sold in Switzerland in 2023 was a battery electric vehicle. Sales continued to grow last year but at a slower pace than expected.

Between the end of 2022 and the end of 2023, the market share of battery electric cars (BEV) grew from 17.3% to 20.9%, while plug-in hybrids rose from 8% to 9.2%. In total, 30.1% of new cars sold were electric-powered, Swiss eMobility said on Monday.

Overall, the share of petrol-engine vehicles sold in Switzerland dropped from 37.8% (2022) to 33.3% (2023), and diesel-powered vehicles slid from 11.7% to 9.3%.

As of January 1, 2024, 163,511 electric cars were in circulation on Swiss roads, out of a total of 4.5 million cars. It will probably take another twenty years for the entire fleet to be electric, according to projections by Swiss eMobility. ...

The marble trout, aka Salmo marmoratus, has been named the Fish of the Year 2024 by the Swiss Fishing Federation (FSP). This freshwater fish from south of the Alps is fighting for its survival.

Perfectly camouflaged, the marble trout has dominated the waters of southern Switzerland for thousands of years, the Swiss Fishing Federation (FSP) said in a statement on Tuesday. But today it is only found in Lake Maggiore and a few rivers in the Bregaglia and Poschiavo valleys in canton Ticino. ...

In 2023, some 30 previously banned substances were exceptionally authorised by federal authorities, as a means of tackling growing menaces to agricultural crops.

Thierry Blaser observes the same thing every year when walking through his rapeseed field. “Insect pests sting the rape and lay their larvae. The plant then gets deformed and can no longer produce as it should,” the farmer told RTS public radio on Tuesday.

To kill the insects and produce his 15 tonnes of rapeseed, there was only one solution for Blaser: protection products. The problem is that the number of authorised substances is constantly decreasing. Since 2005, 208 products have been withdrawn from the market.

Conservation group Pro Natura says that if the species – which belongs to the marten family – is to survive in the country, a nationwide ecological infrastructure is needed.

The polecat, classified as “vulnerable” on Switzerland’s red list of threatened species, is a nomad with no fixed territory, roaming the countryside at night in search of prey. To do this, it needs hedges, ditches and wetlands. Like many wild animals, it avoids open spaces.

Its network of natural routes has been however largely destroyed, laments Pro Natura on Wednesday. According to the conservation group, structurally rich agricultural landscapes and wetlands are among the currently most threatened types of natural environment in Switzerland.

More than three-quarters of the Swiss population support the initiative submitted in the autumn to restrict the use of fireworks by private individuals. According to a representative survey, the main reasons for this are animal welfare and air pollution.

The fireworks initiative enjoys strong support among the population, according to the survey: 76% of all respondents are in favour of the initiative and 24% are against. Most of the participants took a clear stance. Only 11% would have chosen the “rather yes” or “rather no” option. ...

Three Swiss companies have once again made it into the top 100 most valuable listed companies in the world. However, more than half of the most highly valued large corporations are based in the US.

From a Swiss perspective, it is a familiar picture with three representatives among the “Top 100” listed companies. According to the list compiled by the auditing and consulting firm EY, the food group Nestlé was ranked 26th (previous year 23rd) with a market capitalisation of just over $307 billion (CHF258 billion) as of December 27. ...

The regulations on the expansion of landfill sites are to be relaxed in Switzerland. The department of Environment Minister Albert Rösti wants to amend an ordinance to this end and has opened a consultation process until mid-April.

With the relaxation, the government wants to address the lack of landfill space for the disposal of non-recyclable waste. The environment ministry said on Thursday that the expansion of existing landfill sites was one way of counteracting the tense situation.

Two popular initiatives calling for a ban on foie gras imports and a ban on fur imports have been submitted to the Federal Chancellery. They have 106,448 and 116,140 signatures respectively.

The two petitions, entitled “Yes to a ban on the import of fur from animals that have been mistreated” and “Yes to a ban on the import of fur products manufactured under conditions of cruelty to animals”, are aimed at preventing animal suffering.

The products in question are banned from being manufactured in Switzerland but are “imported en masse”, as the Swiss Animal Alliance (AAS), which launched the texts in June 2022, pointed out on Thursday. ...