20 September 2024

LAV

Considered a byproduct of the egg industry, over 35 million male chicks are killed every year in Italy. In 2021, Italy approved a law to ban male chick culling by the end of 2026. But slow progress is being made on making the ban a reality.

In order to ensure the ban can be enacted by 2026, the government must support the transition of companies towards the adoption of more animal-friendly practices, and correctly inform consumers.

However, the adoption of the decrees is still incomplete. The deadline for issuing the pending measures was set for 7 April 2024, but failure to implement the legislation risks continuing to encourage the slaughter of millions of chicks every year. 

In the egg industry, male chicks are shredded alive or suffocated within the first 24 hours of birth, and without the use of stunning techniques.

Viable alternatives already exist, such as in-ovo sexing technologies that detect male eggs before they hatch. In France, where a ban on chick culling has been agreed in principle but not yet implemented, the additional cost to consumers is estimated at only one cent per box of six eggs.

Animal Equality, CIWF Italia, Essere Animali, Animal Law Italia and LAV wrote to the Ministries of Health and Agriculture asking them to adopt the decrees necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the ban. 

They called for the adoption the envisaged decrees, in particular: 

• The labelling of eggs treated with in-ovo sexing technologies; 
• The promotion and development of technologies for in-ovo sexing;
• The definition of criteria for managing chicks born by mistake within the egg industry.

Over 110,000 Italian citizens supported a petition by Animal Equality calling for the ban. The associations stressed that society is ready to take this historic step for animal welfare, and politicians must do their part so as not to betray citizens’ trust.

Regards Mark