The culling of male chicks may soon be a thing of the past thanks to growing technology which allows the sex of chicks to be identified at egg stage.
In-ovo sexing is being increasingly used across Europe after animal rights groups put the egg laying industry under pressure to improve its welfare standards, and the US is now following suit with two hatcheries adopting the practice this year.
Research has shown that around 20% of the EU’s flock of 389 million laying hens were hatched using in-ovo sexing at the end of March 2024, an increase of 15% from September 2023.
Currently around 6.5 billion male chicks are culled every year globally when they are about a day old, with an estimated 330 million of these cullings happening in Europe – 45 million of those are in the Netherlands alone.
Male chick culling is banned in many European countries including Germany, France, Italy and Austria and, even in countries where the practice is still used, in-ovo sexing is on the rise. For example, in Switzerland where no ban is in place, the country’s two main hatcheries plan to introduce in-ovo sexing in 2025. This comes after a task force representing major poultry industry stakeholders was set up to find a solution to end male chick culling.
The European Union is said to be considering legislation which outlaws male chick culling, meaning hatcheries will be forced to use in-ovo sexing or find another solution.
Male chick culling in the UK
So, what about here in the UK? As it stands, male chick culling is still routinely carried out despite the public overwhelmingly asking for change. In a survey carried out by food tech firm In Ovo, more than two thirds of Brits said they would be prepared to pay more to know they were eating cull-free eggs.
The firm has unveiled plans to bring its technology to the UK, and founder Wouter Bruins claims to be in discussion with major retailers to provide the cull-free eggs that their ‘customers clearly want’.
In Ovo’s method works by using something called the Ella machine which can determine the sex of an egg by extracting a small amount of fluid after only the ninth day of incubation. The female eggs are then put back into the incubator with the male eggs sent to a separate company which uses them as an ingredient in pet food.
The challenge as always comes in making the technology affordable for the poultry industry to adopt; however, significant savings come about when male eggs are removed as less incubators need to be used to hatch the same number of female eggs. In hatcheries not yet using in-ovo technology, sexing is mostly done by hand requiring more manpower.
Alternatives to in-ovo sexing
Another growing method to determine the sex of an egg comes from scientists at Soos Technology who are seeking to eliminate male eggs altogether by encouraging embryos to only develop as females.
Tech company Volcani is also producing layer hens which have been genetically engineered so that eggs with male embryos simply do not develop.
Eggs in the UK
With the UK’s adoption of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership further concerns regarding animal welfare have arisen.
Animal welfare charities such as the RSPCA and veterinary bodies such as the British Veterinary Association and British Veterinary Poultry Association have expressed their concerns over the detrimental impact to animal welfare and our commitment to protect these standards.
The deal poses the risk that UK consumers will be given the option of buying eggs produced to much lower welfare standards; standards that were raised in the EU with the ban on battery cages in 2012. The terms of the deal will see import tariffs phased out over ten years, allowing lower welfare standard products to be imported offering wholesale price reductions to retailers and the leisure sector.
The British Hen Welfare Trust’s view
The British Hen Welfare Trust has been working alongside the British egg industry for many years and promotes the fact that welfare standards in the UK are amongst the highest in the world. However, this new agreement entirely undermines the hard work and investment that farmers have made into these welfare standards and the trade deal is a huge blow for the industry.
Moreover, we are keen to see an end to male chick culling given the rise of alternative technologies which could stop this practice being necessary.
We will keep you updated on any news regarding these two important welfare topics.
