On March 7, Swiss courts will vote on an initiative that, if passed, will obligate courts to appoint lawyers for animals in cases concerning alleged animal abuse. As a part of the initiative, domestic animals will be given the constitutional right to be represented by lawyers in court. The animal-lawyers initiative has gathered 144,000 signatures but is not supported by the Swiss government, which believes that special offices already set up to deal with animal-abuse cases are sufficient. Due to Switzerland’s policy of popular vote, an initiative needs 100,000 signatures before it can be brought to a national vote and passed into law.