Promised by Didier Guillaume almost two years ago, the elimination of male chicks by crushing or gassing in industrial farms will be prohibited from January 1, 2022, announced Julien Denormandie, the Minister of Agriculture,
in an interview with the Parisian, this Sunday.
“The Council of State will be asked at the end of the summer of a draft decree, which will impose that on January 1, 2022, all hen hatcheries must have installed or ordered machines to detect the sex of the chickens. chicks incubating in the egg, before hatching, ”he explained. “2022 will therefore be the year of the end of crushing and gassing of male chicks in France”.
“Sexing in ovo”
As part of industrialized egg production, the chicks hatch in hatcheries, whose owners then sell the future laying hens to breeders. After hatching, the male chicks are immediately killed, the industry judging that it is not profitable to feed them, unlike the females called upon to become laying hens. This practice, criticized by animal rights activists, is currently considered essential by the poultry industry for economic reasons.
Instead, producers will need to use machines that use the chosen egg sexing technique, spectrophotometry, or “in ovo sexing”. This technology involves detecting the sex of embryos to rule out males from production before they hatch. Spectrophotometry “ makes it possible to distinguish, through the shell, the color of the feathers of the male embryos, different from that of the female embryos “, specified Julien Denormandie, announcing that” the machines will be installed for two thirds of the production in France from the end of the first quarter 2022 ”.
Towards European regulations?
According to the Minister of Agriculture, the State will grant “within the framework of the France Relance plan”, 10 million euros in the form of subsidies, “within the limit of 40% of the amount of each investment”. Will the price of eggs increase for consumers? Yes, but only “one euro cent more than the price of a box of six eggs”.
France, alongside Germany, will also propose “the establishment of European regulations incorporating this ban on the end of the elimination of male chicks,” said Julien Denormandie. But that’s not all. The Minister of Agriculture also announced the end of live castration of piglets on January 1, 2022. And for breeders who would like to continue using this method, it will be necessary to opt “for painless castration after local anesthesia”.