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Morning Start: It’s illegal to own just one guinea pig in Switzerland

Your morning start for Friday, September 4, 2020
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(Natalia Cuevas-Huaico - Kelowna Capital News)

Good morning - summer weather isn’t going anywhere in the Okanagan and Shuswap regions. Expect highs above 30 C today.

Fun Fact of the day: Swiss law prohibits owning just one social animal

If your passions lie in animal rights, you’re going to love this piece of Swiss legislation.

Since 2008, the country’s Animal Protection Ordnance has prohibited owning solitary guinea pigs, reason being they’re highly social animals that rely on companionship.

The 182-page ordnance doesn’t stop at guinea pigs. Other social animals that “must be kept in groups of at least two animals” are mice, gerbils, parrots and goldfish, to name a few.

There are a staggering number of other legal protections, and some make life for animals seem borderline luxurious. Take Article 46, which stipulates that during hot conditions, pigs kept in groups and weighing 25 kilograms or more must be provided with air conditioning!

Weather forecast according to Environment Canada:

In Kelowna:

In Vernon:

In Penticton:

In Salmon Arm:

In case you missed it: Massive illegal grow operation found in rural B.C.

B.C. Mounties recently made a rather green discovery while conducting aerial operations over Lytton, ending in a sizeable seizure of illegal cannabis.

According to police, officers were in the RCMP Air Services helicopter, dubbed Air 4, on Aug. 28 when they made the discovery from above.

“Due to the size of the grow operation and its physical location, the team decided to return on Saturday to dismantle the site, bearing in mind that often times such locations are typically staged with booby traps meant to injure or kill unsuspecting visitors or first responders,” RCMP said in a statement Thursday, Sept. 3.

Video of the day:

Down by two with half a second left to play in a critical playoff game? Just put the ball in OG Anunoby’s hands…

READ MORE: Penticton man charged after allegedly holding girlfriend against her will


Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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