🔴 Exclusive webinar: The Secrets of ProPicks AI Success Revealed + November’s List FREEWatch Now

France bans crushing and gassing of male chicks from 2022

Published 07/18/2021, 01:38 PM
Updated 07/18/2021, 01:40 PM
© Reuters. A chick drinks water at a poultry farm in Pruille-le-Chetif near Le Mans, France, March 4, 2020. Picture taken March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

PARIS (Reuters) - France will ban from next year the killing of male chicks by crushing or gassing, a practice denounced as barbaric by animal welfare groups, and will push for a similar measure at European level, the agriculture minister said on Sunday.

Each year, 50 million male chicks are culled in this way, Julien Denormandie said in an interview posted on the website of daily Le Parisien. Only females, future egg-laying hens, are kept alive.

"France is the first country in the world, along with Germany, to end the crushing and gassing of male chicks," Denormandie added.

The two countries will try to convince their European Union partners to outlaw the practice at a council of EU agriculture ministers on Monday, he said.

From 2022, breeders in France will instead need to equip themselves with machines to detect the sex of chicks before they hatch.

"The dynamic is well underway and, given the orders already placed, the machines will be installed for two-thirds of production in France by the end of the first quarter of 2022," Denormandie added.

The measure is expected to lead to an extra cost of 1 euro cent per box of six eggs, he said.

To help breeders buy the equipment, France will grant subsidies totalling 10 million euros ($11.8 million).

© Reuters. A chick drinks water at a poultry farm in Pruille-le-Chetif near Le Mans, France, March 4, 2020. Picture taken March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

The castration of live piglets will also be prohibited from the start of 2022, Denormandie said.

($1 = 0.8471 euros)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.