In Switzerland any proposal which gains more than 100,000 signatures in an 18-month period is automatically voted on in a Federal popular initiative poll.

Activists argue that factory farms are responsible for the worst cases of animal abuse, and a ban would improve welfare in the country. 

“Switzerland imports 1.2 million tonnes of animal feed every year to produce the necessary quantity of animal products,” Vera Weber, president of the Franz Weber environmental foundation, told swiss.ienfo.

The petition’s supporters have blasted factory farms for their slaughter procedures which kill animals at high speeds and at young ages.