Germany to be first country to end mass culling of male chicks
- Germany approved a draft law ending the controversial practice
- Animal welfare activists have long campaigned to end the practice but farmers have complained there is no practical, affordable and cruelty-free alternative
Germany is set to be the first country to ban mass culling of male chicks in the poultry industry, the government said on Wednesday after approving a draft law ending the controversial practice.
The measure passed by the cabinet envisages a ban on mass chick killing from 2022 in “a significant step forward for animal welfare”, Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner said in a statement.
In many poultry businesses, male chicks are separated from females soon after hatching and shredded or gassed as they do not produce eggs and generate less meat.
Tens of millions of males are culled in Germany every year.
If only the cruel practice of killing chicks in Germany is ended, this will change absolutely nothing about the unbearable suffering of laying hens
Animal welfare activists have long campaigned to end the practice but farmers have complained there is no practical, affordable and cruelty-free alternative.