Historical turning point: Closed to a ban on killing male chickens in the egg industry in Italy | Animal equality
The awareness and lobbying campaign carried out by Animal Equality achieved a historic turning point in Italy this week, with an amendment presented to the government for a ban on chicken slaughter. empty by the end of 2026.
In the egg industry, male chicks are considered useless for production, as they cannot lay eggs, nor can they be used for meat because they are a different species from the more common “meat” chickens. used in the food industry. For this reason, between 25 and 40 million male chicks are killed each year in Italy. In the United States, about 260 million male chicks are killed each year.
Live or suffocated chicks will be killed within the first 24 hours after birth without the use of stun techniques.
In 2020, the Italian Foundation for Animal Equality launched a campaign to draw attention to the issue and ask the Italian government and egg industry to stop this appalling practice. Appeal has attracted more than 100k signatures and continues to increase. Thanks to this work, the egg producers’ trade association, Assoavi, has supported the introduction of in-ovo sex distribution technologies capable of avoiding the mass slaughter of chicks.
The amendment presented this week by Francesca Galizia, a member of the Italian House of Representatives who has also drawn support from other politicians, calls for a ban on the selective slaughter of male chickens by the end of 2026.
The amendment provides time to adapt to the legislation and update the working processes and technological state of companies in the field. It also supports the introduction and development of in-ovo sexing technologies capable of sexing chicks before hatching.
In countries such as France and Germany, the enactment of legislation banning culling male hens in the egg production industry is expected as early as 2022, while the EU Commission has launched a public initiative to perform a full examination of the current rules for the welfare of these chicks.
Italy needs to make responsible and respectful choices towards animals, living beings, who can no longer be seen as waste products. The annual selective slaughter of roosters is not the norm and Parliament has an excellent chance of choosing to support the proposal, which also follows European Union guidelines on animal welfare. The time has come to encourage the introduction of these in-ovo sex technologies in Italy, as the manufacturers have been doing, and organizations must commit to this fundamental path for progress. of our country and animals.
Alice Trombetta, Executive Director of Animal Equality Italy
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