After Germany, France bans culling of male chicks from 2022

France has announced a ban on the killing of male chicks by crushing and gassing from 2022. France Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie on Twitter said that next year will mark the end of the crushing and gassing of male chicks. The culling of male chicks has been criticised by animal welfare groups for its extreme brutality. 

France bans culling of male chicks 

Speaking to Le Parisien, Denormandie stated that France will next year ban the crushing of male chicks shortly after they hatch. He added that from January 1, 2022, all poultry hatcheries would be required to have installed or ordered machines that will determine the sex of a chick at the egg stage. Denormandie further said that the French government will spend 10 million euros in subsidies to have hatcheries equipped with the technology. 

Denormandie added that France and Germany are the only European countries that have banned the crushing of male chicks. The agriculture minister said that the new law will prevent the killing of 50 million male chicks every year. He further stated that the two countries will convince other European Union partners to outlaw the practice. 

In May, Germany had banned the culling of male chicks by 2022. German Agriculture Minister Julia Klockner stated that she did not consider the culling "to be ethically acceptable", reported DW News. The German government has passed legislation to ban the killing of male chicks as of January 1, 2022. It is estimated that about 45 million male chicks are killed every year in Germany. The farmers in Germany would be required to use technology that would determine the sex of a chick before it has been hatched. According to Associated Press, Switzerland had announced the ban on the practice of shredding newly hatched male chicks in 2019. 

IMAGE: Unsplash