In the UK, 40-45 million day-old chicks are killed
every year.
All commercial egg systems do this: not just laying cage systems but barn-reared, organic and even free-range egg units.​​​​​ But did you know that none of this is necessary?
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Commercially viable technology is common practice in other countries but in the UK The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) and farmers have not embraced Egg Sexing Technology.
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With the UK government failing to make this law, organisations such as Verify Humanity are fighting for change!
what is egg sex tech?
​In-ovo sexing uses technology to determine the sex of a chicken egg while it's still developing, meaning industrial poultry producers need hatch only the female eggs, avoiding the killing of billions of male chicks every year.
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Egg Sex Tech (EST) is also Verify Humanity's campaign to bring about the end of male chick culling in the commercial egg industry and raise awareness of egg sexing technologies.
What is male chick culling?
The egg industry kills male chicks when they are only one day old because they can't lay eggs and can't put on weight quickly enough to make them profitable for meat production.
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To improve profits, chickens are selectively bred for either egg production or meat production. It is cheaper to dispose of male chicks as a waste product.
​​​​​​​​​​​HOW DOES THE EGG INDUSTRY KILL CHICKS?
The main methods of killing day-old male chicks are maceration or gassing.
With maceration, live chicks are fed into a grinder and with gassing, they are suffocated in a sealed unit.
Many egg-laying hen hatcheries use carbon dioxide or argon to gas their chicks.
However, it is legal practice to have a macerator on-hand for destroying eggs or in case of emergencies.
"The UK faces ethical and staffing challenges in the egg industry, with ongoing discussions about adopting EST." (read more here p58)
"Switzerland has banned chick shredding but allows culling with CO2, reflecting ongoing advocacy for humane practices. Italy, driven by campaigns from organisations like Animal Equality, is set to ban chick culling by 2026."
Germany and France were the first countries to ban male chick culling in 2022.
"In Germany and France, pioneering efforts have led to the implementation of bans on day-old male chick culling, with significant investment in egg sexing technology. A law requires farmers operating within Germany to find alternatives to killing recently hatched male chicks."
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A CHICK TO DIE FROM GASSING and MACERATION?
IS IT BETTER TO GAS CHICKS or MACERATE THEM?
Verify Humanity does not advocate for any method of killing chicks.
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As commercially viable technologies exist to determine the sex of an egg it removes the need for killing chicks. We should therefore be asking why commercial egg units do not invest in Egg Sex Technology.
"The Netherlands presents a case of active societal debate and research without concrete legislative action so far. Austria has introduced a 'brother layers' concept and is exploring more humane alternatives to culling, awaiting further evidence on EST." (read more here p39)
Do chicks suffer when killed?
All methods of killing chicks have well-being problems. With the advent of EST, this pain, distress and suffering is very much avoidable.
CO2 "causes pain and discomfort," and argon gas can cause "vigorous wing flapping and convulsions" in dying chicks and the incorrect use of macerators can leave chicks in 'distress,' 'pain' and 'fear'.
ARE DAY-OLD CHICKS SENTIENT?
According to research and The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, chicks are considered sentient.​
"The European Union, as a unified member state representation, is considering a region-wide regulation as part of its new animal welfare legislation, influenced by member country actions"
"The United States, while showing intent, has not yet found a universally adopted alternative, continuing with traditional methods like maceration and carbon dioxide asphyxiation." (read more here p26)