Connexion France said that a decree was issued on Sunday, February 6 in the Official Gazette, prohibiting the killing of male chicks after birth, adding that this decision would save the lives of more than 50 million male chicks every year in France.
The decree issued in the Official Gazette stated that farmers had “until the end of 2022 to comply with the new decision.”
France is the main egg producer in the European Union, and currently kills about 50 million male chicks at birth, out of 300 million chicks killed annually in the European Union.
Male chicks are culled because they are “not laying by nature, nor are they suitable for meat production”.
Connexion France said farmers will now need to use alternative methods to ensure that male chicks are not born so that they do not have to kill them.
“These methods include the use of technology that enables the sex of the fetus to be determined before it develops into a chick,” he added.
