Call to end male chick culling in the UK

The British egg industry faces more pressure to make change by ending the practice of male chick culling – a goal we support from an ethical standpoint. However, once again, this is a complex welfare issue.

In the UK over 2 million eggs are set for hatching every week and of these obviously many will hatch as male chicks and be of no use to the egg industry. On hatching the chicks are euthanised with Argon gas (a painless process approved by the Humane Slaughter Association and the RSPCA) .

In February the BHWT attended a parliamentary roundtable discussion led by The Vegetarian Society, which is calling for a ban on the culling of day-old male chicks that are of no use to the egg industry.

In-ovo sexing – the process of determining the gender of a chick at embryo stage – is currently in use in some parts of Europe. The Westminster roundtable discussion was attended by representatives from Norway, which as a country is in the process of stopping the culling of male chicks through a collaboration with farmers, retailers and consumers all working towards a common goal and taking a pragmatic, welfare-focussed approach.

However, the UK holds a different position as all its culled chicks are used to feed prey animals kept as pets and in zoos. In fact, the UK imports additional male chicks to fulfil demand leaving the need to find an alternative feed source for these animals. Currently better use of by-products from slaughterhouses and the unwanted male chick eggs is being explored. But consideration is also being given to the use of animals from laboratories and even rearing rats solely for this purpose, which carries similar ethical issues as male chick culling.

The British Egg Industry has a vested interest in improving hatch rates of laying hens and is keen to reduce volumes of male chicks hatched. However, pain can be felt by an embryo at 9 days so in-ovo sexing at seven days or earlier is needed. Canada leads the way in ovo-sexing technology and it is hoped that progress will continue.

At the roundtable discussion it was clear all parties are working towards the same goal; the British Hen Welfare Trust would prefer to see this goal reached by working collaboratively and in a way that supports, not undermines, our British egg industry.

We will keep you posted on progress.