Switzerland: Bumblebee (Bombus confusus) FOI Request on the Biodiversity Initiative

Summary

In 2025, a Bombus confusus – one of the rarest bumblebees in Europe, and an extinct species in Switzerland – filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in Switzerland demanding transparency on the government’s handling of the ecological crisis; however, the bee faced hurdles as a non-human animal to legal standing.

The bumblebee sought answers from the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland and the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC). Faced with its own eradication in Switzerland, the wild bee, also known as the confusing bumblebee, saw no other option but to demand transparency about the Swiss government’s handling of biodiversity. Media reports also suggested that the Swiss government was downplaying the ecological crisis, which contributed to the Bombus confusus speaking up for itself and demanding action.

Freedom of Information Request
On 23 February 2025, the bumblebee filed its FOI request together with two other natural persons acting on behalf of the wild bee, invoking both national and international law: the Freedom of Information Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Aarhus Convention, the Biodiversity Convention, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The bumblebee, mother and child requested access to documents related to the biodiversity initiative, in particular, the draft versions of the official voting booklet on the Biodiversity Initiative issued by the Federal Council, which contained its explanatory notes to voters. The applicants contended that access to these documents was necessary to assess whether the information provided to the electorate had been complete and accurate, or whether voters had been deliberately misled.

The FOI request was made against the backdrop of a media article entitled “Active Distortion of Facts – Biodiversity Initiative: How the Farmers’ Association and Federal Councillor Albert Rösti Are Misleading Voters.” The article claimed that the Federal Councillor had failed to adequately inform voters in the official voting booklet. The article accused the Federal Councillor of removing from the final version of the voting booklet a sentence included in the draft that reflected scientific consensus: “Biodiversity in Switzerland is currently in an alarming state and continues to deteriorate.“

Access to Documents
The Federal Chancellery and the General Secretariat of DETEC refused access to the requested documents, despite a signed agreement from a previous mediation proceeding stipulating that the draft versions of the official voting booklet would be made available by the Federal Chancellery. Subsequently, the bumblebee together with the two other natural persons filed a mediation request with the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) in April 2025.

Mediation: Non-human Animals
On 6 February 2026, the FDPIC issued two decisions concerning the bumblebee Bombus confusus. In its legally non-binding communication, the FDPIC noted that the Federal Chancellery and the General Secretariat of DETEC, as the authorities responsible for processing the FOI requests, had not examined whether the non-human animal qualifies as a rights-bearing entity.

Referring to two recent judgments of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland (1C_607/2024 and 2C_458/2024), the FDPIC stated that wild bees do not constitute legal subjects under Swiss law and therefore cannot hold subjective rights. Acting in its capacity as arbitration board for access to official documents, the FDPIC concluded that Bombus confusus does not qualify as a “person” within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act.

“Pursuant to Article 13 paragraph 1 of the FoIA, a person who participated in the prior proceedings may submit a request for mediation. The bumblebee is not a (natural or a legal) person, and there is no legal provision granting a bumblebee legal capacity. As the bumblebee is not a legal subject, it cannot exercise subjective rights and lacks legal standing as a party. Consequently, it does not meet the requirements of a “person” within the meaning of Article 6 FoIA, could not participate in the freedom of information procedure, and is not entitled to file a request for mediation.”

As a result, the FDPIC declined to conduct mediation proceedings for the extinct non-human applicant, which had demanded transparency regarding Switzerland’s failure to comply with environmental laws.

Mediation: Human Animals
While the bumblebee was denied a mediation procedure, the FDPIC did enter into mediation proceedings concerning the human applicants, Homo sapiens. In its legally non-binding recommendation, the FDPIC found that access to all documents must be granted, as the two federal authorities had failed to demonstrate that the exemption provisions under Articles 7 and 8 of the Freedom of Information Act apply.

The process is currently pending before the Federal Chancellery and the General Secretariat of DETEC, which need to decide whether they agree with the FDPIC’s legal assessment.

Ecological Context
Bombus confusus is a thermophilic species that depends on abundant summer flowering resources. It was historically widespread across Switzerland, especially in Valais and the Lake Geneva basin, and inhabited extensive lowland agricultural landscapes, including meadows, semi-natural grasslands and large pastures bordering wetlands. The species was last recorded in Grisons in 2004, with earlier sightings in Central Valais (1996) and the Geneva region (1999). After targeted searches in 2016 failed to detect the bumblebee, Bombus confusus is now considered likely extinct in Switzerland.

Related Initiatives