Chick Culling in Europe: State of Play and Prospects for Change

Background

An estimated 300 million male chicks are killed annually in the EU egg industry, primarily through maceration (i.e., mechanical grinding) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) asphyxiation (gassing), a process commonly referred to as chick culling. Within a day of hatching, these chicks are put on a conveyor belt, separated from females through a process called sexing, and killed. This practice results from decades of selective breeding of chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). As animal agriculture has become increasingly industrialized, chickens have been bred either for high egg yield or rapid muscle growth. As a result, male chicks hatched from layer hens can neither lay eggs nor grow quickly enough to retain economic value in an industry that has pushed chickens beyond their natural physiological limits.

The present article focuses on chick culling, even though the culling of newly hatched birds also occurs in foie gras production. In this context, an estimated 40 million female ducklings are culled shortly after hatching every year, as their smaller, less fatty livers make them less profitable to keep and force feed. However, given the absence of national-level bans on duckling culling, and the limited political attention devoted to this issue, the likelihood of regulatory action at EU level remains low.

Main Findings

1. Ethical and Animal Welfare Concerns

Public opinion surveys have consistently shown overwhelming opposition to the continuation of chick culling. In a public consultation launched by the European Commission in 2025 on the "modernization" of animal welfare legislation, 98% of the 190,062 respondents fully or partly agreed that chick culling is ethically problematic, with 96.5% supporting a transition towards alternatives.^[i] Similarly, a 2023 Eurobarometer survey conducted on behalf of EU institutions found that 75% of respondents considered the practice unacceptable. In the United Kingdom, 85% of survey respondents likewise regard it as unacceptable.

While a small minority of the public considers the practice acceptable provided that animals do not suffer, chick culling is nevertheless associated with significant animal welfare concerns. Although both maceration and CO₂ asphyxiation are permitted chick killing methods under EU law - specifically under Regulation 1099/2009 (EU Slaughter Regulation) (Annex I of Chapter I), these methods still carry a risk of causing suffering and for this reason have been criticised in the scientific literature and increasingly rejected as valid killing methods by animal welfare scientists over the past two decades. For instance, in its 2019 scientific opinion, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) identified several welfare risks associated with maceration, including slow blade or roller rotation, overloading of equipment, and rollers being set too far apart. These failures may result in chicks not being killed immediately, leading to severe pain, distress, and fear while remaining conscious.

^[i] European Commission, Factual summary report of the public consultation on the modernisation of EU’s on‑farm animal welfare rules for certain animals, Ref. Ares(2026)2192718 - 27/02/2026.

2. Alternatives to Chick Culling

Two main alternatives to chick culling exist. First, the use of so-called in-ovo ("inside the egg") sexing technology, which enables the detection of the sex of the embryo during incubation, allowing the subsequent destruction of eggs with male embryos. Second, the rearing of male chicks, most commonly for meat, or a shift towards dual-purpose breeds.

In-ovo sexing relies on a range of sex-determination methods, including spectroscopic analysis, genetic techniques, and magnetic resonance imaging. Several technologies are already available, commercialised, and widely used within the EU, differing in the stage of incubation at which they can determine the sex of the embryo. This timing is crucial, as the scientific evidence on embryonic pain perception remains inconclusive but generally suggests that embryos do not experience pain during the first six days of incubation, and may begin to do so from day 13 onwards. The intervening period is therefore often referred to as the "grey zone." Most technologies currently used in the EU can determine sex between the 6th and 9th day of incubation. While technologies capable of doing so on the first day of incubation do exist, they are not available in the EU and often rely on gene-editing techniques, making their future authorisation in the EU unlikely given the EU’s prohibition to use genetically-modified organisms for human consumption purposes.

Raising the male siblings of laying hens, or shifting towards dual-purpose breeds used for both egg and meat production, is another alternative to the systemic killing of male chicks. However, keeping the male siblings is not cost-effective for the industry, as they grow approximately four times more slowly than chickens kept for meat, who have been selectively bred over the past several decades for rapid, health-damaging, and welfare-compromising muscle growth. Dual-purpose breeds present similar limitations: females are used for egg production and males for meat, but both produce lower yields, in eggs and growth speed, compared to highly selectively bred commercial laying hens and chickens kept for meat. For this reason, countries where chick culling has been banned, often export surplus male chicks outside the EU, including to third countries in Africa, where production systems differ and rearing costs are typically lower, as these dual purpose breeds are not suited to the highly intensive EU production systems. This approach of exporting male chicks therefore does not eliminate animal suffering; rather, it risks shifting it elsewhere, and may even exacerbate suffering, particularly if animals are subjected to long-distance transport or kept in inadequate conditions.

3. Progress at National Level

Several countries have banned, or are planning to ban the culling of male chicks. In 2019, the German Federal Administrative Court ruled that chick culling violates § 1 of the Animal Welfare Act (Tierschutzgesetz), which states that no one may cause pain, suffering, or harm to an animal without a reasonable cause. The Court held that the economic considerations underlying chick culling do not constitute such a reasonable cause. However, the Court also acknowledged that the practice could continue temporarily until viable alternatives became available. Following this ruling, Germany adopted legislation prohibiting the culling of chicks from 2022 onwards, while also banning the killing of chicken embryos after the seventh day of incubation starting from 2024.^[ii] In 2023, however, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture published a study concluding that embryos could not perceive pain during the first 12 days of development. As a result, the Animal Welfare Act was further amended to allow the destruction of eggs until the 13^th day of incubation. ^[iii] Nevertheless, the study that prompted this amendment has been criticised for methodological limitations, suggesting that the issue warrants further scientific and legal consideration.

France banned the culling of egg-laying chicks in 2023 in the shell egg sector. The legislation provides an exemption for chicks used in animal feed production, allowing their killing by gassing if they originate from strains for which sex determination based on feather colour cannot be applied - typically white breeds such as Leghorns. Austria provides a similar regulatory regime, by banning chick culling, while exempting chicks produced for feed production purposes. In Austria, the destruction of embryos is prohibited after the 14th day of incubation and stunning is required if embryos are culled between the 7th and 13th day.^[iv]

Italy will also soon prohibit chick culling. In 2022, the Italian legislature empowered the government to adopt a decree to phase out chick culling by the end of 2026. This law, adopted a year later, establishes a chick culling ban from 2027 and also includes exceptions (e.g., in-ovo sexing errors when embryos are incorrectly identified as female), but explicitly prohibits the maceration of chicks.^[v] Only technology that can detect the sex of the embryo within 13 days of incubation will be allowed. The decree implementing the law was published in 2025 and will enter into force at the end of 2026.^[vi]

Chick culling was first prohibited at national level in Luxembourg in 2018 under a general prohibition on killing animals exclusively for economic reasons (Art. 12(13)). The legislative history of the 2018 Law on the Protection of Animals (Loi sur la protection des animaux) shows that the original proposal explicitly referred to the prohibition of killing chicks but was later revised to adopt broader wording covering other categories of animals, such as male calves in the dairy industry. Although there seem to be no hatcheries for laying hens on Luxembourgish territory, the inclusion of a general prohibition ensures that such a practice will not be introduced in the future.

Progress has also been made in other countries. In the Belgian region of Wallonia, maceration has been prohibited as a method of chick culling since 2021 (Art 14), and in 2025, the Walloon Government announced that it was in the process of moving towards a complete ban on chick culling. In the Netherlands, the government has published a roadmap to gradually phase out the practice. In 2024, the Danish government signed an agreement with six political parties called "Together for Animals" (Sammen om Dyrene), which also provides for research into alternatives to spare the 4.5 million male chicks that are culled each year in the country.

Outside the EU, the United Kingdom has made significant progress towards transitioning from male chick culling to in-ovo sexing in the past year. In its Animal Welfare Strategy released at the end of 2025, the UK Government stated it 'would like to see an end to the practice of killing day-old chicks' and committed to 'encourage industry' to end chick culling as an action. It reaffirmed this commitment in its Farming Roadmap 2050, released in June 2026. In February 2026, Members of Parliament, academics, industry representatives and NGOs convened at a parliamentary roundtable in the UK to discuss the next steps towards ending male chick culling, after which a roadmap was then delivered to the UK Government. To-date, over 100 politicians have spoken out in support of ending male chick culling in the UK, together with over 40,000 members of the UK public having signed the petition. The UK campaign has now moved to a call on retailers to join the industry support for a swift transition to in-ovo sexing technology.

Furthermore, the Norwegian poultry sector has set a self-imposed objective of making in-ovo sexing 'the new normal' by July 2027.

Outside Europe, some companies in the U.S. have completely switched to in-ovo sexing technology, with the technology having also just been introduced in Australia, where the country’s largest supplier of day-old chicks and pullets, Specialised Breeders Australia, announced in 2026 that it would introduce in-ovo sexing in June of the same year.[vii]

The Parliament of the State of São Paulo in Brazil also introduced in 2023 a law that would prohibit the practice in the state.

^[ii] Gesetz zur Änderung des Tierschutzgesetzes – Verbot des Kükentötens vom 18. Juni 2021 (Bundesgesetzblatt Jahrgang 2021 Teil I Nr. 34, ausgegeben zu Bonn am 25. Juni 2021).

^[iii] Tierschutzgesetz in der Fassung der Bekanntmachung vom 18. Mai 2006 (BGBl. I S. 1206, 1313), das zuletzt durch Artikel 2 Absatz 20 des Gesetzes vom 20. Dezember 2022 (BGBl. I S. 2752) geändert worden ist, § 4c.

^[iv] Bundesgesetz über den Schutz der Tiere (Tierschutzgesetz – TSchG), BGBl. I Nr. 118/2004), § 6(2a) and (2b) in conjunction with § 44(34).

^[v] Decreto Legislativo 7 dicembre 2023 , n. 205 . Adeguamento della normativa nazionale alle disposizioni del Regolamento (CE) n. 1099/2009 del Consiglio, del 24 settembre 2009, relativo alla protezione degli animali durante l’abbattimento, ai sensi dell’articolo 18 della legge 4 agosto 2022, n. 127, Art. 2-4.

^[vi] DECRETO 4 settembre 2025 . Attuazione dell’art. 5, commi 1 e 2 del decreto legislativo 7 dicembre 2023, n. 205 concernente «Adeguamento della normativa nazionale alle disposizione del Regolamento (CE) 1099/2009 del Consiglio, del 24 settembre 2009, relativo alla protezione degli animali durante l’abbattimento».

[vii] Bianka Atlas, Australia First in Asia-Pacific to Introduce In-Ovo Sexing, American Bar Association Newsletter, Animal Law News (Summer 2026).

4. Outlook for EU Ban on Chick Culling

In the 2019–2024 legislative term, EU animal welfare legislation underwent an evaluation and revision process, primarily aimed at aligning standards with scientific evidence and improving enforceability. Within this context, chick culling was widely discussed, with calls for an EU-wide ban spearheaded by Germany and France to 'respond to the consumers' demands for better animal welfare and serve fair competition within the sector'.^[viii] The European Commission (the EU's executive branch) indicated publicly that such a prohibition would be included in legislative proposals initially scheduled for 2023.^[ix] However, the revision package ultimately did not materialise in full, with some of the announced reforms were deferred to the next legislative term.

In 2025, the European Commission launched a renewed, rebranded revision process. While this revision is much less ambitious in scope than in the previous term and is limited to the welfare of terrestrial animals, it includes a ban on chick culling.^[x] In July 2026, the Commission confirmed its intention to propose a targeted revision of animal welfare rules for laying hens by the end of the year. The revision will include measures aimed at ending the systematic killing of male chicks and will also 'explore the possibility of updating egg-marking rules in order to better inform consumers, including in third countries.'^[xi]

^[viii] Council of the European Union, EU-wide end to the systematic killing of male chicks - Information from the French and German delegations on behalf of the Austrian, Belgian, Cyprus, Finnish, French, German, Irish, Luxembourg and Portuguese delegations, 13317/22.

^[ix] Commissioner Stella Kyriakides during the meeting of the AGRIFISH Council, 17.10.2022.

^[x] European Commission, Call for Evidence for an Impact Assessment: On-farm animal welfare for certain animals: modernisation of EU legislation , Ref. Ares(2025)4864849 - 18/06/2025.

^[xi] European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: EU Strategy on Livestock, COM(2026) 576 final (Brussels, July 7, 2026).

5. Cost of Transition

The cost of any proposed measure is a key determinant of the political feasibility of EU policies. From this perspective, the industry's uptake of in ovo sexing technology is a promising development. In-ovo sexing technology is increasingly being adopted, driven by national chick culling bans and voluntary adoption due to rising consumer demand. According to the 2025 In-Ovo Sexing Market Penetration and Forecast Report, at the end of Q1 in 2025, 28% of the EU's hens had been sexed with in-ovo sexing technology. The post-pandemic uptake of in-ovo sexing even exceeds the early scale-up curves of widely used technologies such as the iPhone, color TV, internet, or air conditioning.

While a potential ban on chick culling would incur capital costs in the form of equipment purchase, use, and maintenance, there are three points to consider:

• These costs can be partly offset by the sale of surplus eggs for animal food or research purposes;

• The use of in-ovo sexing technology can bring economic benefits through reduced incubation costs and full automation, which does not require specialized operators;

• With better scaling and constant technological improvement, the production costs of in-ovo sexing will continue to decrease. There has been a 22% decrease in cost between 2020 and 2024, now amounting to less than 1 cent per egg.

Conclusion

An EU-wide ban on chick culling is a a relatively feasible policy measure. It directly reduces animal suffering by avoiding the hatching of male chicks only to be killed in cruel conditions shortly thereafter, and it relies on technologies that are already available and becoming increasingly more affordable. A chick culling ban would also address distortions in the EU internal market arising from divergent national approaches. Such a measure would therefore enhance regulatory clarity and reflect overwhelming public support for the elimination of this practice. While the adoption of in-ovo sexing technologies has progressed more rapidly in Western than in Eastern Member States, an EU-wide ban on chick culling would nevertheless deliver substantial animal welfare and internal market benefits across the EU.

Additionally, such bans should not only prohibit the killing of newly hatched chicks but also require the use of technologies that prevent male chicks from hatching, thereby avoiding the possibility of the industry retaining them for subsequent fattening. It is crucial to prevent a displacement effect whereby male chicks are exported to countries with lower production costs and subsequently slaughtered for low-value meat. Ultimately, the objective must be to reduce and prevent animal suffering, rather than merely shifting its form or geographic location.

At the same time, reducing suffering within existing production systems should not be equated with resolving the broader ethical concerns associated with industrial farm animal production. While in-ovo sexing technologies may eliminate one particularly harmful practice, there is a risk that such measures might further entrench systemic cruelty by legitimising food production methods that, although they are more humane, still subject animals to violence and exploitation. From this perspective, a ban on chick culling should be understood as a necessary welfare measure rather than as the endpoint of efforts to address the harms associated with contemporary animal farming.

For more information on chick culling, see the white paper by L214 and The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy, Chick and Duckling Killing: Achieving an EU-Wide Prohibition (2024).

Brought to you in partnership with The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy and The Vegetarian Society