January 10, 2023
The report sheds light on chick culling as a systematic practice in the chicken and duck industries.
The report sheds light on chick culling as a systematic practice in the chicken and duck industries.
At the end of 2022, Animal Society published a report on the routine killing of chicken and duck chicks in the European Union. The report was released in the context of the planned revision of European animal welfare legislation, aiming to align it with the latest scientific findings.
Expertise for Animals supported Animal Society by compiling relevant facts and data and conducting research on animal-related technical issues.
Every year, the poultry industry kills around 6.5 billion newly hatched male chicks and female ducklings worldwide. In the European Union alone, an estimated 330 million male chicks and 40 million female ducklings were killed annually until recently.
In Germany, approximately 40 million male chicks were killed shortly after hatching each year until 2022. Since January 2022, the killing of day-old chicks has been prohibited. Starting January 2024, it is also forbidden to kill chicken embryos from the 13th day of incubation onwards.
The chicks are killed because they are considered economically “useless.” Male chicks do not lay eggs and do not grow fast or large enough for meat production; female ducklings do not develop a liver large enough for foie gras production. In addition to the ethical concerns, the killing methods commonly used raise serious animal welfare issues.
These animals are deemed “unfit for use” and are often killed just hours after hatching – a practice that poses significant ethical challenges. Moreover, many “surplus” chicks die due to miscalculations in production.
The report offers a detailed account of the issue and an overview of alternatives currently being explored within the industry. These include in-ovo sex determination, raising male chicks for meat, and using dual-purpose chicken breeds.
As chick culling is ultimately a symptom of a much larger issue – the production of food from and by nonhuman animals – the report also discusses plant-based protein sources and egg alternatives made from plants.
Read the English-language report “The Way Out: A Report on Ending Chick Killing in the European Union”.
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