Swiss animal rights activists recently handed a petition to members of parliament demanding a ban on eating cats and dogs, a custom still practised by hundreds of thousands of Swiss people. According to the activist group, up to three per cent of Swiss secretly eat the animals, especially in the regions of Lucerne, Appenzell, Jura and Bern. Because of a loophole in Swiss law, which means pets are not included in farming legislation, it is legal to eat them, provided they are killed humanely and the meat is not sold. The petition contained 16,000 signatures, including that of French actress and animal rights campaigner Brigitte Bardot.