If there is one photo to take home from Switzerland, it is probably a selfie featuring iconic Saint Bernard dogs against the snow-covered backdrop of the Matterhorn peak.

But, for some visitors, such photo-ops are now over. The popular ski resort of Zermatt has banned tourists from posing for photos with the famed search-and-rescue dogs, following complaints that some of the Saint Bernards were being kept in miserable conditions.

Swiss animal protection group PSA had called for the ban, saying that some dogs used in Zermatt were not taken for walks and were left "for long periods without food or water."

"They are made to wait long hours in the cold outdoors for photographs," said PSA in a report.

Five of the Saint Bernards were also kept in a decrepit house "in miserable conditions and against animal protection laws," added PSA.

The head of Zermatt commune Christoph Burgin, told AFP that the ban took immediate effect, although some contracts with Japanese visitors "may involve one or more photo shoots this summer."

Although lighter and nimbler dogs are now used more often in rescue missions, Saint Bernards, which can weigh up to 85 kilograms, are still given avalanche rescue training.