Vegan activist Denied Swiss citizenship Due to Cow Bell Fight
Swiss resident Nancy Holten is 42 years old, she is a vegan and an animal rights activist. Holten moved to the country from the Netherlands at the age of eight, she speaks Swiss German, and her children are Swiss citizens. However, the woman cannot get a Swiss passport in any way: she has already been denied this twice. Local residents said they were "fed up" with the activist's struggle with national traditions — in particular, her campaign against cow bells.
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In the Swiss commune where Holten lives, cows traditionally wear a bell when grazing in a meadow. Holten explains his dissatisfaction with the Swiss tradition: "cowbells emit a sound with a power of a hundred decibels, it can be compared to the work of a pneumatic drill. We don't want to irritate our ears like that, do we? In addition, the bells that cows carry to and from pasture are heavy — about five kilograms. They rub the skin of animals and cause burns."
A committee of residents of the Gipf-Oberfrik commune of the canton of Aargau decided by a majority vote that since a woman does not accept Swiss traditions and lifestyle, she cannot become a citizen of the country. They even prepared an "anti-Holten" agitation.
Holten applied for citizenship for the first time in 2015. Then the commune authorities were ready to issue her a passport, but 144 out of 206 local residents voted against this decision. This year, the Swiss were also dissatisfied with the fact that a woman actively spreads her views in the media. Politician Tanya Suter called the activist a "chatterbox" who annoys the commune and does not respect their traditions.
Holten describes herself as a freelance journalist, model and a student at a theater school. She also opposes other phenomena characteristic of the country: hunting, pig racing and loud ringing of bells in cities. The woman responds to the attacks that she has nothing against traditions and cares only about the welfare of animals. Information about her was handed over to the authorities of the canton of Aargau, so the activist has a chance to get a passport, despite the opinion of the residents of Gipf-Oberfrik.
Holten with his cat Crystal shows how to properly wear fur.
Keywords: Activists | Vegans | Cows | Switzerland