Antoine Goetschel, who has succeeded in having animals recognised in the Swiss constitution, is on a speaking tour in the country for animal rights charity Voiceless and is calling on Australians to provide animals with legal representation in courts.

He has accused Australia of having poorer welfare standards than Europe and says the Australian animal ‘has no dignity, it has no attorneys to give animals a voice in criminal cases,’ reports ABC.

Well known campaigner

Mr Goetschel  is well known for his campaigning on animal rights issue and has had several successes in Europe including getting a ban on caged eggs in Switzerland. 

He has also acted for a dead fish in an infamous angling case when angler Patrick Giger landed a 22lb pike from Lake Zurich and later ate it with his friends  in a local restaurant. The fisherman found himself accused of causing excessive suffering to the animal which was represented by  Mr Goetschel - although he got off the charge.