By the end of 2026, Italy will also trigger a stop to the culling of male chicks. The novelty, already in force in France and Germany, was finally approved in the Chamber of Deputies on 2.8.22, in the European Delegation Act 2021. (1)
Moreover, animal welfare-conscious consumers can already choose to purchase cruelty-free eggs, that is, eggs obtained without resorting to this practice. And thus stimulate the poultry industry to do earlier than prescribed by the Italian legislature.
Culling male chicks, a practice to be abandoned
Breeders of laying hens select the breed with a view to maximum egg productivity. They regard male chicks as waste, as the costs of raising them would barely cover the low yield of poultry meat from that breed.
Consequently, in poultry supply chains that practice this genetic selection, male chicks are culled (so-called sexing) immediately after the eggs hatch. (2) A practice that the long-awaited EU animal welfare regulation should ban. (3)
Animal Equality, the petition
The culling of newly hatched male chicks has impressive numbers. 25-40 million in Italy and 260-330 million in the EU each year, according to estimates by the association
Animal Equality
.
As a result, the petition against sexing launched in 2020 by Animal Equality-which is active in Italy, the United States , the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and India-has gathered more than 100,000 signatures in the Bel Paese alone.
Ovsexing
There are essentially two alternatives to sexing, use laying hens of breeds that are also compatible withbroiler breeding or rely on oviposition.
Technology developed by the German-Dutch company Respeggt, for example, makes it possible to:
– Take a trace of liquid from the egg with a fine probe,
– distinguish gender in the embryonic stage,
– Plug the tiny hole with beeswax
– Earmark for animal feed the egg that could produce a male chick. (4)
Cruelty free eggs, Coop Italy the first
Coop Italy-having always been at the forefront of animal welfare, from banning eggs from caged hens to eliminating antibiotics-has also led the way in ovipositioning. (4) As early as 2019, it agreed with its egg suppliers to avoid culling male chicks.
Other operators have since landed on eggs that respect male chicks(chick cull free), such as Le Naturelle (unfortunately in non-organic eggs only) and from June 2022 organic eggs from La marca del consumatore.
Animal welfare, nothing better than organic eggs. Without sexation
Organic eggs, it is useful to remember, are the animal products that offer the best animal welfare conditions. In fact, organic farming is the only method that guarantees more space for each animal, as well as organic feed therefore free of pesticide residues and GMOs.
Notes
(1) See Ansa.
From House final OK to stop culling male chicks.
. 2.8.22
(2) Marta Strinati.
The slaughter of male chicks, much talk and few facts.
. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 17.7.20,
(3) Marta Strinati.
Animal welfare, start of public consultation to amend EU legislation.
. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 20.10.21,
(4) Marta Strinati.
Shredded chicks, the Coop says Enough.
. GIFT(Great Italian Food Trade), 5.4.19.
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
