The decree was published this Sunday in the Official Journal: the elimination of male chicks at birth in the laying hen sector is prohibited by the government, which gives French hatcheries until the end of 2022 to change their practices. This measure, demanded in particular by animal rights associations, had been expected for several years in France, the leading egg producer in Europe. It is estimated that around 300 million chicken “brothers” are killed each year in the European Union, including 50 million in France, because they are unable to lay the eggs that will end up on our plates.
Five hatcheries specializing in the supply of laying hens to breeders are concerned. Some have started to install machines to determine the sex of embryos in the egg (ovosexing) – and thus to eliminate males before hatching. “The operators justify compliance with the implementation of the ban (…) by the installation of equipment allowing the sex of the embryo to be determined no later than the fifteenth day of incubation (out of 21, editor’s note), or by any other means providing equivalent guarantees”, according to the decree.
As early as 2019, with a view to accelerating the search for alternative options by companies, the Minister of Agriculture at the time, Didier Guillaume, had promised that this practice would be prohibited by the end of 2021. But the file n did not progress as quickly as hoped.
Future hens will be more expensive
The killing of male chicks has been prohibited since the beginning of the year in Germany, where the ovosexing machines have been developed with which French manufacturers must now equip themselves. The French sector had warned against a rapid ban, highlighting in particular significant additional costs. The State must subsidize part of the investment in the hatcheries, amounting to 15 million euros. As for the ovosexing service itself, it will make future hens much more expensive. An additional annual cost estimated by the profession at 64 million euros, or 4% of the turnover of the sector.
According to the decree, which provides for a fine for offenders, hatcheries have until March 1 to show that they have ordered egg-sexing equipment.