The ban will have to go into effect by 2026
In today’s session of 2 July 2022, the Chamber of Deputies definitively approved, with a decisive vote for the history of animal welfare laws in Italy, the stop to the slaughter of male chicks by the end of 2026.
The news comes following the approval in June in the Senate and in December 2021 in the House of the amendment presented by the Hon. Francesca Galizia together with Animal Equality which introduces, by the end of 2026, the ban on the selective culling of male chicks, considered a real production waste within the egg industry: in the egg industry, in fact, the chicks males are considered useless for production, as they are unable to lay eggs, nor can they be used for meat, as they are different from the more common broiler chickens used by the food industry. For this reason, between 25 and 40 million male chicks are killed every year in Italy. Shredded alive or suffocated, the chicks are killed immediately, within the first 24 hours of birth, and without the use of stunning techniques.
Animal Equality had launched in 2020 a petition signed by over 100 thousand Italian citizens to ask the government and industry to put an end to this terrible situation, publishing exclusive images that showed the cruelty of shredding chicks in hatcheries.
And already from that year the trade association of Assoavi egg producers had declared itself in favor of the introduction of in-ovo sexing technologies capable of avoiding the slaughter of male chicks, together with the commitment made by Coop supermarkets with the purpose of implementing technologies capable of putting an end to the killing of chicks.
The text definitively approved provides for times for adapting to the legislation for updating the work procedures and the technological state of companies in the sector of laying hen breeding, on the other hand supporting the introduction and development of technologies and tools. for the sexing of in-ovo embryos able to identify the sex of the chick even before hatching, also through incentive policies of these technologies.
“This is very important news for animals in Italy and truly historic, we are very happy that Parliament has definitively approved this amendment which regulates one of the most controversial aspects in the egg production industry – comments Alice Trombetta, executive director of Animal Equality Italy -. Animals are sentient beings that can no longer be just considered industrial waste. The selective killing of male chicks that takes place every day will no longer be considered the norm, and institutions will now have to commit themselves to this fundamental path for the progress of our country and of the animals, supporting and accelerating the progressive implementation of technologies capable of put an end to this systematic cruel killing “
“Our country is the third European country, after France and Germany, to adopt the same measure to protect male chicks and, therefore, now it will have to favor and necessarily promote the introduction, development and knowledge of innovative technologies that offer a a valid alternative to the practice of slaughtering chicks, such as the techniques and tools for sexing in-ovo embryos (so-called “in-ovo sexing”), capable of identifying the sex of the chick even before hatching. In this regard, I hope that the resources useful for the start of innovative and alternative practices can be identified soon, which safeguard the welfare of animals “, declares Hon. Francesca Galicia.
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