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Chick Culling Bans: What You Need to Know About Poultry Legislation Worldwide

Chick culling is a practice that has ruffled many feathers, literally and figuratively, we’d say.

For many years now, this controversial issue has sparked ethical debates and ultimately led to significant legislative changes across the globe.

For those not in the loop, chick culling is the practice of killing male chicks in the egg industry because they can’t lay eggs and aren’t suitable for meat production. Chick culling has – unfortunately – long been a standard practice, but it’s now under intense scrutiny. Thanks to growing public awareness and technological advances, several countries have taken decisive steps to end this.

But what exactly are these countries? And how many will follow? Let’s crack open this topic some more.

Leading the way: putting an end to chick culling

Several countries have taken a firm stance against chick culling, implementing bans and setting deadlines for the practice to end. Let’s take a closer look at the frontrunners in this movement:

  • Germany: Germany became the first country to ban chick culling outright. In 2013, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia issued a decree that prohibited hatcheries from culling male chicks. This move sparked a legal battle against two hatcheries in the area. The debate eventually reached the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (federal administrative court) in Leipzig.

    In 2019, the court ruled that the current practice of chick culling violated the state’s animal protection laws. However, the court allowed hatcheries to continue culling temporarily until alternatives, such as in-ovo sexing, became widely available. The final decision, implemented in January 2022, definitely bans chick culling and requires hatcheries to use more humane alternatives like in-ovo sexing, dual-purpose chickens, or raising the males.

    With a specific eye on in-ovo sexing technology, this stricter law requires to analyse the eggs before day 13 of the incubation period, following a research paper on pain perception of embryos in hatching eggs, conducted by the Technical University Munich.
  • France: France has followed closely in Germany’s footsteps. As of January 2023, the French government mandated that all hatcheries must adopt technology to identify and sort male embryos before day 15 – differently from the German law.

    Within the French poultry industry, spectroscopic imaging is the most popular in-ovo sexing method and it works by analysing the colour of the feathers using a visual imaging technique. This technology determines the sex of the chick based on the colour of the feathers inside the egg. So, France’s legislation is less strict than Germany’s and includes a few notable exceptions:
    •  Since it’s impossible to analyse the sex of the chicks based on the feather colour of white breeds, the male chicks of white breeds can still be culled, estimated at around 10% of all male chicks.
    • Additionally, male chicks resulting from inaccuracies by in-ovo sexing methods can also be culled, contrary to German law, where these chicks have to be reared. This leaves little motivation to aim for an early day of testing because this often increases the error rate.
  • Switzerland: Switzerland has also joined the movement by prohibiting the maceration of male chicks. While they haven’t fully banned chick culling (gassing is still allowed), the specific method of grinding baby chicks is no longer allowed. This lays the groundwork for potentially broader bans in the future and more humane alternatives.
  • Austria: Similarly, in Austria, the maceration of live chicks is prohibited. The senseless killing of viable chicks is also prohibited unless they are used for feed production (e.g., for wild animals in zoos). Moreover, the hatchery must provide evidence of this intended use to the authorities. In the case of the use of a method for the early detection of sex during incubation, this is only permitted from the 7th day with anaesthesia.

On the Horizon: Countries planning to ban chick culling

While some countries have already made significant strides, others are in the process of phasing out or revising the practice. Here are two exemplary cases:

  • Italy: Italy is on track to ban chick culling. Following relentless campaigning by the NGO Animal Equality (100k signatures were collected in support of the petition!), the Italian parliament has approved a motion to phase out the practice by the end of 2026, promoting the use of alternative technologies in the industry. This legislative decision reflects a growing consensus in Italy on the importance of ethical treatment of animals in agriculture.
  • Netherlands: In the Netherlands, agricultural organisations, Animal Protection NGOs, politicians and industry (including In Ovo) already signed a covenant in 2014 committing to researching an alternative to chick culling and promising, once that alternative is in place, to apply it in hatcheries. In the meantime, the industry will work on a plan of action to reduce the number of day-old chicks killed by 2026, with the most desirable end situation being to stop killing day-old chicks.

    An independent evaluation in 2026 will decide if the objectives were met. Based on the results, a ban may be considered for the welfare of animals, farmers, the environment, and consumers. Efforts are also focused on addressing the potential consequences of this reduction, like market impacts, fair pricing, and sustainable rearing methods.
  • EU: According to the latest Eurobarometer, the practice of killing one-day-old male baby chicks is deemed unacceptable for three-quarters of Europeans who are in general willing to pay more for animal-friendly sourced products.

    During an EU ministerial meeting that took place in 2022, nine EU countries (France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Portugal) called for an EU-wide ban on the systematic killing of male chicks. Their proposal was widely supported by ministers and the European Commission, which committed to conducting an impact assessment to propose legislative changes.

    The European Commission’s intention to revise the current laws and potentially phase out male chick culling marks a significant step towards addressing this issue.

Understanding the legislation

The push to end chick culling has been driven by a combination of ethical concerns, public pressure, and technological advancements. Animal rights organisations have long campaigned against the practice, highlighting the unnecessary suffering of millions of male chicks each year.

Public sentiment has increasingly favoured humane treatment of animals, and governments are responding more and more by enacting legislation. Additionally, the development and availability of in-ovo sexing technology have made it feasible to implement more sustainable and less expensive alternatives compared to rearing males.

Impact on the poultry industry

Transitioning away from chick culling presents many opportunities for the poultry industry too. Implementing in-ovo sexing technology does not require significant changes at a farm level and, as the technology is readily available, the switch can be achieved quickly by placing a machine at the hatchery. By addressing the ethical concerns associated with chick culling, the industry can better align with consumer demands for more humane and sustainable food production.

In conclusion, the issue of day-old chick culling continues to be a topic of debate and concern. Luckily, the global movement to ban chick culling is gaining momentum, with several countries leading the way and others set to follow.

Consumers and the industry will play a pivotal role in shaping the path forward, with the potential to make legislation unnecessary if sustainable and ethical practices become the norm in egg production. We believe that in ovo sexing holds opportunities for the entire egg chain to make progress on animal welfare, ethics and sustainability while creating extra margin for all players involved.

Stay tuned to see how these changes continue to unfold and impact animals and the industry as a whole.

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