The Buddy Rule: Why Swiss Guinea Pigs Must Live in Pairs
In Switzerland, you can’t keep a guinea pig by itself. The law treats guinea pigs as social animals, so they must live with at least one other guinea pig. This isn’t a meme—it’s written into Switzerland’s animal-welfare system.
Where the rule comes from
Back in 2008, Switzerland adopted an updated Animal Welfare Ordinance. It set standards for how different species should be kept—covering space, shelter, enrichment, and crucially, social contact. Guinea pigs are herd animals; keeping them with their own kind is part of their basic welfare.
What the law looks like on the ground
The ordinance even lists practical numbers. For guinea pigs, the baseline setup is a pair and a minimum indoor area of about 0.5 m² (roughly the size of a small coffee table) for those two animals, plus extra space if you add more. It also calls for things like hideouts and items to gnaw, so the animals feel safe and can behave naturally.
The science behind it (in plain words)
Guinea pigs chatter, squeak, and groom each other. They nap side-by-side and get stressed if they’re isolated. Switzerland’s rule is basically the humane version of common sense: if an animal is built for company, make sure it has company. That’s why Swiss guidance and reporting consistently say social species like guinea pigs, rabbits, and parakeets should be kept in pairs at minimum.
When life happens: the “rent-a-guinea-pig” fix
What if you own two piggies and one passes away? Oddly charming Swiss solution: companion-rental. Some small, private services lend an elderly guinea pig to keep the survivor from being alone, especially near the end of life. It sounds quirky, but it exists precisely because the law expects companionship.
Why this matters beyond “cute law” headlines
This rule sits inside a bigger idea: animals have welfare and dignity, and the government sets minimum standards to protect both. The same framework regulates enclosure size, enrichment, and social contact across many species—not just guinea pigs.
Quick starter tips (if you’re curious)
Think in pairs (or more). Keep at least two, ideally littermates or carefully matched companions. The law’s tables are written with pairs as the default unit.
Plan the space. For a pair, target ≥0.5 m² inside as a hard floor, then go bigger if you can; more room means more zoomies and fewer quarrels.
Give them cover and chewables. Hides, hay, and safe wood keep teeth in shape and stress down—requirements the ordinance actually calls out.
Bottom line
Switzerland doesn’t see this as a “funny law”; it’s a welfare rule with real teeth. By writing social life into housing standards, the country turned a simple truth into policy: a guinea pig’s best enrichment is another guinea pig.