Imagine being a Swiss dog, sprinting in alpine meadows with devoted owners trained to understand the deepest of canine thoughts. The Swiss have an animal bill of rights that mandates proper animal ownership. And Parliament passed a law late last year, mandating that owners understand and take good care of their social pets and farm animals.

This means that goldfish will never be lonely. By law, they would always have another goldfish to keep them company in their aquariums.

A law to uphold the humane treatment of animals, whether it clashes with an owner’s personal philosophies, is commendable and says a lot about the society.

But, the same law does not protect a baby hippo born in a Swiss zoo. The bill of rights only covers farm animals and social animals; both rely on humans as caretakers

Farasi, a 200-pound sweet male hippo was born at the Basel Zoo last year and instantly became the darling of the Swiss press.

But, Farasi’s father lives at the same zoo and zoos can only keep one bull hippo in their herd. Farasi is not considered a social animal, so if they can’t find a home for him in the next four years, he will be put down and his carcass will be fed to the lions.

Wait a minute. Are these the same people that demand guinea pigs are bought in pairs because they “feel better” when they have guinea pig company? What authority decided that zoo animals are dispensable, but social animals need owners who comprehend their psyche?

Large zoo animals are social; they are fed, watered and looked after by humans. The very people that manage their captivity also provide the emotional support that a wild animal would need to live a zoo.

I just visited the North Carolina zoo. I enjoyed looking at the animals that were looking back at me. U.S. zoos practice birth control, yet European zoos let their animals do what comes naturally and then must deal with the consequences.

Farasi belongs to an unfortunate group of surplus animals, about 18,000 a year, some of which turns into tiger food.

“All zoos put their excess animals to sleep,” said Peter Schlupp from Swiss Animal Protection. “I wouldn’t call it a problem; I think everybody who visits zoos should know that a certain number of animals are killed every year. It’s completely normal and it’s a fact if you keep animals.”

The consequences of letting animals breed in captivity needs to be explored a little further. The European mindset of letting animals act naturally within captivity ignores the fact that their internment is based on the human need to study and observe them.

Should I reincarnate as an animal born in Switzerland, I want to be covered under the bill of rights. I would have access to legal representation if I had an abusive owner and Antoine Goetschel, Switzerland’s first animal welfare attorney, would ensure that my owners were punished sufficiently.

But if I come back as a zoo animal, that put in my time looking adorable for the masses, I wouldn’t want to be considered expendable, even if I didn’t fit into the scheme of things.