Vegan Woman Denied Swiss Passport For ‘Being Too Annoying’

Nancy Holten has been living in Switzerland from the age of eight. She is a fluent speaker of Swiss German and even has two children who are Swiss nationals. But alas, she is also “an annoying Vegan,” which is why she cannot have a Swiss passport of her own.

42-year-old Vegan and animal-rights activist Nancy Holten was denied a request for a Swiss passport because she is a widely unpopular figure among the locals in the Swiss village where she lives. The left-wing Dutch activist had been widely campaigning against the local traditions of the village, particularly one involving five-kilogram cow bells. Her campaigns have made her an unpopular figure in Switzerland.

Dutch vegan who moved to Switzerland denied Swiss passport because she is too annoying https://t.co/gaMasX5OIz pic.twitter.com/ACg9zf13kT

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) January 10, 2017

Nancy has been receiving a good deal of media coverage for her protest of a local tradition where cows are made to wear five kg cowbells around their neck for an annual parade. Nancy put her point across, arguing about the loud sound and the heavy weight of the cow bells.

“The sound that cow bells make is a hundred decibel. It is comparable with a pneumatic drill. We also would not want such a thing hanging close to our ears?”

“The bells, which the cows have to wear when they walk to and from the pasture, are especially heavy. The animals carry around five kilograms around their neck. It causes friction and burns to their skin.”

The resident’s committee of Gipf-Oberfrick, the village in the canton of Aargau where Nancy lives, argue that Nancy should not be given the official status of a Swiss national, owing to the fact that she has not been complying to the Swiss way of life. The self-described ‘freelance journalist, model and drama student’ has previously irked Swiss locals by protesting against traditions such as pig races, hunting and even the loud church bells in the town.

Locals, who have been practicing these traditions for many generations, were not having any of her arguments and they have become successful in blocking Nancy’s second attempt of receiving a Swiss passport and a Swiss national status.

The villagers also blocked Nancy’s first attempt at naturalization in 2015. Although the village authorities were complying and willing to give the Dutch activist her Swiss passport, the villagers blocked the move by holding a referendum and voting against it. 144 out the 206 villagers voted against Nancy’s naturalization.

The villagers had the support of a local politician, Tanja Suter, who seemed just as critical about Holten. Suter described Holten as having a “big mouth,” arguing that she didn’t deserve a Swiss passport as she continues “to irritate us and does not respect our traditions.”

Nancy has said that she has nothing against Swiss traditions and claims to only care about animal rights. After her second application was blocked she spoke about how she felt.

“I think I spoke my mind too often, and I say it out too loud.”

The case of Nancy Holton’s naturalization has now been moved to the Cantonal government of Aargau, who could overrule over the local’s objections and still grant her her passport. Almost 20 percent of Switzerland’s population is foreign born. In Switzerland, local residents usually have a say in the citizen application of foreign nationals. These applications are decided by the towns and the cantons rather than the federal government.

[Feature Image by vaaseenaa/Shutterstock]