France has joined Germany in banning the killing of male chicks. Starting next year, France wants to prohibit this controversial practice. Germany announced the same decision back in May.
With the support of five other countries (Austria, Spain, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Portugal), Germany and France called on the other Agriculture Ministers on Monday for an EU-wide ban on the killing of day-old chicks.
Every year in France, more than 50 million male chicks are killed shortly after hatching; only the females are allowed to live as future laying hens. This is a practice that animal rights activists have sharply criticized for years.
Thanks to a new technique for determining the sex of embryos within the egg, it is now possible within a few days to prevent eggs with male embryos from being incubated. From January 1, 2022, all French hatcheries must have such equipment installed or ordered, said French Minister Julien Denormandie on Monday (July 19) on the sidelines of a meeting of agriculture ministers in Brussels.
Although the French business plan France Relance has already pledged a “huge” investment of 10 million euros, the transition to the new technology will involve significant additional costs for the French poultry industry.
Dutch Members of Parliament also believe that the killing of male chicks shortly after hatching should be banned as soon as possible. A majority in the Dutch House of Representatives therefore wants such a ban in the Netherlands as well. Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten previously indicated she is not yet in favor of such a ban because the poultry sector is already actively developing alternatives.
In the Netherlands, organizations such as Respeggt and In Ovo have been working on techniques for sex determination within the egg. Since 2014, the Dutch poultry sector has been in contact with the Leiden-based company. The University of Leiden, the Dutch Animal Protection Society, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) are also involved in the development.
This spring, In Ovo unveiled the machine Ella, which has been in development for almost ten years. Both In Ovo and Respeggt do not pass the additional costs on to poultry farmers. “We provide egg traders a service by carrying out sex determination for them,” it is said.
The Dutch Animal Protection Society welcomes the sex determination of embryos within the egg. They would like to see sex determination happen even earlier. “The earlier eggs are removed from the incubation process, the more certain it is that there is no perception of pain,” said a spokesperson.