A male chicken chick sits on one hand.
Image: dpa
From January 1st, male chicks may no longer be killed in Germany. From 2024, the law will also restrict the time until when sex determination may be carried out in the egg. The Bundesverband Ei warns of negative economic consequences.
D.he laying hen keepers in Germany warn of a further tightening of the chick killing ban, which comes into force on January 1st. Henner Schönecke, chairman of the Federal Egg Association, told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”: “The law not only prohibits the killing of male chicks, but from 2024 also restricts the time until when a sex determination can be carried out in the egg. However, the requirements are not yet met by any technology currently in use. ”The law stipulates that from 2024 the sex in the egg may only be examined up to and including the sixth day after fertilization and, in the case of a male embryo, discarded. The background is a possible pain sensation in the embryos. Current technologies for gender determination sometimes apply much later.
“The tightening is the birth defect of the law,” criticized Schönecke. “No hatchery is now investing millions in a system that will no longer be allowed to be used from 2024.” Currently, only one hatchery in Germany is using the appropriate technology. The chairman of the association called on politicians to suspend the tightening. “Otherwise we are not only stifling innovation in sex determination, but are also relocating laying hens and, in a second step, egg production abroad, where chick killing is still permitted.” would be replaced by cheaper eggs from abroad in the processed goods segment. “The entire market for eggs, cakes and so on is currently collapsing for German laying hen farmers. That’s dramatic. ”According to Schönecke, processed eggs make up 50 percent of the sales market.
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