The elimination of male chicks at birth in the laying hen sector is prohibited by the government, which gives French hatcheries until the end of 2022 to change their practices, according to a decree published on Sunday in the Official Journal.

This measure, demanded in particular by animal rights associations, had been expected for several years in France, the leading egg producer in Europe.

As early as 2019, with a view to accelerating the search for alternative options by companies, the Minister of Agriculture at the time, Didier Guillaume, had promised that this practice would be prohibited by the end of 2021. But the file n did not progress as quickly as hoped.

The French sector had warned against a rapid ban, highlighting in particular significant additional costs.

Five hatcheries specializing in the supply of laying hens to breeders are concerned.

A machine to determine the sex of the embryo

It is estimated that around 300 million chicken "brothers" are killed each year in the European Union, including 50 million in France, because they are unable to lay the eggs that will end up on our plates.

Good news for respecting animal welfare?

We can doubt it, given the parade found by the sector.

The killing of male chicks has been prohibited since the beginning of the year in Germany, where so-called ovosexing machines have been developed, making it possible to determine the sex of embryos in the egg... and therefore to eliminate males before hatching. “The operators justify compliance with the implementation of the ban (…) by installing equipment to determine the sex of the embryo no later than the fifteenth day of incubation [sur 21, ndlr], or by any other means providing equivalent guarantees”, according to the decree.

The State must subsidize part of the investment in the hatcheries, amounting to 15 million euros.

As for the ovosexing service itself, it will make future hens much more expensive.

An additional annual cost estimated by the profession at 64 million euros, or 4% of the turnover of the sector.

According to the decree, which provides for a fine for offenders, hatcheries have until March 1 to show that they have ordered egg-sexing equipment.

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  • Breeding

  • Egg

  • Animals

  • Animal cruelty

  • Chicken

  • Planet

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