Mr. Goetschel is the official animal lawyer for the Swiss canton of Zurich, a sort of public defender who represents the interests of pets, farm animals and wildlife.
The country's only public defender of animals, Mr. Goetschel is a vegetarian who has no pets and avoids taking medication because of his opposition to research on lab animals.
But opponents have seized on another fish tale -- Mr. Goetschel's defense of the big pike -- to argue that a mandatory public defender could make for absurd results.
Once a public defender, Ms Rogers said she became a prosecutor because she was “sick of acting for violent aboriginal men”.