Switzerland should do away with “restrictive” animal testing. On Monday, five organisations submitted a petition in Bern with over 40,000 signatures in favour of "pain-free animal" scientific research. According to a press release, Switzerland should become a model for innovative, effective, and pain-free scientific research. The animal protection organisations, Animalfree Research, la Ligue suisse contre la vivisection, Associazione svizzera per l'abolizione della vivisezione, Tier im Recht and Tierschutz Zurich took part in the event on the terrace of the federal parliament building. In a symbolic gesture, the organisations "freed" animal-shaped balloons from a laboratory cage. "These 40,550 signatures are a strong message", the press release continued. As surveys show, a majority of people want research to be carried out without severe constraints on animals. But the reality is quite different, deplore the organisations. At present, a large proportion of animal experiments are ...