🐶 Animal Priorities Switzerland worships cows, and their right to roam fields freely is practically sacred. Swiss cows are local celebrities; annual cow parades celebrate their return from summer grazing, complete with bells, flower crowns, and more enthusiasm than most human festivals receive. And if the cowbells in the field next to your house keep you up all night? Tough luck. They are an important part of Switzerland's traditional culture, and a majority of the residents

As the days begin to warm, there comes that hopeful moment each year when we realise we can finally turn off the heating and open the windows. Fresh air enters the living room. Spring announces itself. Life feels lighter. In a densely built neighbourhood, however, fresh air rarely travels alone. It arrives accompanied by sound. Last year we discovered one particularly dedicated contributor to the urban soundtrack: a neighbour across the street who appeared to have developed a

February in Switzerland is carnival season. Which means that for a few glorious days each year, the Swiss are officially permitted to lose control. This may not sound remarkable if you come from cultures where public enthusiasm is a daily occurrence. But Switzerland runs on restraint. On order. Emotional moderation calibrated to within acceptable tolerances. Carnival is the exception. This is when otherwise respectable bankers dress as medieval vegetables. Accountants unleash

The other day, my wife suddenly looked up from her morning coffee and asked a perfectly reasonable question: 'Where have all the crows gone?' This may not sound like a big deal. But if you’ve ever lived in Tokyo, you’ll understand the gravity of the situation. For years, our mornings weren’t greeted by the delicate chirping of sparrows, but by the full-volume cawing of crows that sounded like they were holding an emergency meeting outside our window. Imagine the ravens at the