Reintroducing the Dahu to Switzerland

[Bowlie]

Next month there is a country-wide referendum which proposes the reintroduction of the Dahu into Switzerland's mountain forests. The Swiss people's party has made the proposal, although there is some controversy about using Austrian born Dahus for this purpose.

What's a Dahu, you ask? Check them out here. French with English subtitles.

[HansV]

Perhaps, genetic modification will allow reconstruction of the extinct species such as the Descentus frontale...

[StuartR]

Next month...

I suspect this may well be delayed for 7 months.

[Bowlie]

No, the plan is to introduce them on the 1st of April, next year. That is if the referendum is adopted...

[HansV]

That's slightly more than 7 months from now...

[steveh]

Next month there is a country-wide referendum which proposes the reintroduction of the Dahu into Switzerland's mountain forests. The Swiss people's party has made the proposal, although there is some controversy about using Austrian born Dahus for this purpose.

What's a Dahu, you ask? Check them out here. French with English subtitles.

Hi Bowlie

It is little wonder that they became extinct when they stand that close to the edge!! How do the Swiss know that these Dahu's haven’t wandered across the border since time immemorial, they may well be Swiss anyway, plus I thought that the Swiss of all people were racially tolerant

[Bowlie]

Ah, Steve. You're beginning to see the dilemma, and why this vital issue has to be decided through the Swiss system of direct democracy. In fact it is believed in many of the German cantons that the Austrian Dahus are indeed Swiss Dahus who escaped the Napolionic wars through Liechtenstein. However in the Suisse Romande (the French Speaking bit) they want nothing to do with German speaking Dahus and are fighting a campaign to bring in French speaking Dahus, either from Chamonix, or perhaps Andorra. Of course the Ticinesi in the south are out seeking the Italian speaking world (that would be Italy) for their own Dahus. Perhaps there are Venisian Dahus?

I'm waiting for the fourth linguistic group, the Romansch, to begin their own campaign soon ...

I think I need a and perhaps a , but not at the same time ...

[Samantha]

... fighting a campaign to bring in French speaking Dahus, either from Chamonix, or perhaps Andorra.

Admittedly, it's been over 30 years since I was last in Andorra, but I thought they spoke Basque there, not French (or Spanish). I felt quite at home there, as I grew up in Boise, Idaho; with one of the largest communities of Basque speakers outside of the Pyrenees.

I think I'll dig out my old photo albums tonight and see if I can spot a few Dahu cavorting on the sides of La Plata de la Rabassa.

[HansV]

Andorra is situated in the eastern Pyrenees mountains, some distance from the Basque region that borders on the Atlantic Ocean. Its official language is Catalan, but because of its position between Spain and France, most inhabitants also speak Spanish and/or French.

[steveh]

Ah, Steve. Your beginning to see the dilemma, and why this vital issue has to be decided through the Swiss system of direct democracy. In fact it is believed in many of the German cantons that the Austrian Dahus are indeed Swiss Dahus who escaped the Napolionic wars through Liechtenstein. However in the Suisse Romande (the French Speaking bit) they want nothing to do with German speaking Dahus and are fighting a campaign to bring in French speaking Dahus, either from Chamonix, or perhaps Andorra. Of course the Ticinesi in the south are out seeking the Italian speaking world (that would be Italy) for their own Dahus. Perhaps there are Venisian Dahus?

I'm waiting for the fourth linguistic group, the Romansch, to begin their own campaign soon ...

I think I need a and perhaps a , but not at the same time ...

[Claude]

Next month there is a country-wide referendum which proposes the reintroduction of the Dahu into Switzerland's mountain forests. The Swiss people's party has made the proposal, although there is some controversy about using Austrian born Dahus for this purpose.

What's a Dahu, you ask? Check them out here. French with English subtitles.

Interesting proposition. Did anyone consider a DNA test to check how Swiss the Austrian are ? (And yes, I'm talking about the Dahu )

If you don't mind, let us know the result, I get results some 3 months later via the Swiss government publication for the Swiss Abroad.

[Bowlie]

As soon as I see the results, I will let you know

Have you seen this website? Swissinfo.com seems to have quite a bit of topical information for the Swiss abroad.

[stuck]

Are these things related in anyway to the Squonk?

Ken
PS for our local lawnmower enjoy it here

[HansV]

It's a good thing the Dahus and Squonks are separated by an ocean. A meeting between a Dahu and a Squonk would end in tragedy, with the Squonk dissolving in tears and the Dahu losing its balance...

[stuck]

In Scotland it is well known that the Wild Haggis also has one pair of legs shorter than the other so that it too can run around the mountains and glens with ease.

So Dahu are not related to Squonks but they must be related to the Wild Haggis. Any differences will be explained by the rise in sea levels after the last ice age isolating the UK form mainland Europe.

Ken

[HansV]

The Dahu and the Wild Haggis definitely share a common ancestor. Similarly, the Squonk appears to be related to the Sidehill Gouger.

[stuck]

I suppose if you go back far enough, to the time of pangea, you can understand there will be a common ancestor to all of these beasts, ranging across what subsequently became separated by the Atlantic.

Ken