Document type written answer to Question no. 4180 published in the Journal Officiel de la République Française
Authors: question: Nicolas Thierry (Ecologist - Nupes - Gironde) Answer: French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
Question: Mr. Nicolas Thierry has a question for the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty concerning Decree No. 2022-137 of February 5, 2022 on the prohibition of the killing of chicks as part of the production of eggs for human consumption and the protection of animals that are killed outside abattoirs. In January 2020, the Government announced its willingness, in partnership with Germany, to bring a rapid end to the crushing of male chicks, an uother small companion animalsceptable practice from an animal protection point of view, and to develop and implement sustainable alternatives to this fate which befalls approximately 90 million male chicks from hatcheries in the two countries. In an interview given to France Inter on November 23, 2022, Mr. Gabriel Attal, Minister of Action and Public Accounts, stated that he had obtained "a ban on the crushing of male chicks". However, whereas Germany has indeed banned the practices of crushing and gassing as of January 1, 2022, Mr. Attal draws the attention of the Minister to the degree to which French measures, scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2023, are in force. Indeed, the scope of the implementation of these measures, already postponed by a year in 2022, may turn out to be limited by the issuing of derogations that are disproportionate to its purpose. In the Decree of 5 February 2022, a first derogation is granted for chicks destined for animal feed, rendering the requirement for in ovosexing and the crushing ban inoperative for a whole sector of the food industry. In addition to this first derogation, female ducklings for the foie gras industry are excluded ab initio from the new requirements. Yet, every year, approximately 14.5 million female ducklings are crushed or gassed on the first day of life, on the grounds that the liver of females is not desirable in foie gras production. More recently, in October 2022, the egg interprofession (CNPO), which announced that it was "ready" to bring its ovosexing machines into service by December 31, 2022 to eliminate males before hatching, was able to obtain a derogation for white eggs intended for processing, for "reasons of European competition". This is not a very convincing reason, as Germany, the second largest egg-producing country in Europe, has banned crushing and gassing since January 1, 2022. As a consequence, these eggs, which could represent up to 50% of the total number of eggs produced in France (currently 15% according to the CNPO), would be exempted from the ovosexing requirement, which would not apply to male chicks intended for this production type. Therefore, he asks the CNPO to state its position on this further exemption and reassert its wish to put an end to all crushing and gassing of chicks.
Answer: In July 2021, the Government confirmed the commitment it made in January 2020 to the gradual phasing out of the culling of male chicks in the egg-laying hen industry in the course of 2022. The system has now been finalized: the implementing Decree was published in February 2022, a required timetable for implementation over the year was provided to the professional sectors, and an Order was signed on November 7, 2022. Until now, 50 million male day-old chicks were crushed each year in the egg industry in France because they could not be valorised and there was no economic outlet available. In its desire to put an end to this practice and to respond to strong public expectations, the Government and the professional sectors have worked together to meet the objectives set. Thus, alternative solutions are available for use within the egg-laying sector: - mainly, determining the sex of the embryo in the egg (in ovo sexing), allowing eggs containing male embryos to be removed from production; - the raising of young males from clutches of laying hens, a practice that has greater impact on environment (it is more polluting, requires more food resources, takes longer and is therefore more expensive); - the development of "dual" strains, i.e. producing birds that have value in the egg-laying sector for females and in the meat sector for males. The Decree does not promote one alternative over another. In fact, given that the fastest solution in current economic circumstances is the introduction of in ovo sexing (there is no market for young male chickens in France and, although the selection of dual strains is not excluded, this is seen as a solution for the mid to long term), French hatcheries took the decision to invest in in ovo sexing equipment. The Government then took action, supporting hatcheries to the tune of 10.5 million euros (M€) in installing machinery that could determine the sex of embryos while in the egg. The professional sector has also made arrangements to share the additional costs introduced by these new technologies among all those involved in the production process, estimated at €45 million per year, thus meeting the expectations of the public. In addition, the Decree makes provision for - a fine punishing violations of the ban on the practice of killing male chicks; - exceptional cases where the ban on culling cannot be applied, such as scientific protocols or where challenges exist in the reproduction, health or feeding of animals. In order to set strict limits on the continued practice of killing chicks for animal feed, the Decree authorizes only gassing as the method of slaughter, enabling whole chicks to be obtained for the feeding of captive wildlife (reptiles, birds of prey, etc.). Culling by crushing remains prohibited without exception. What is more, only those chicks from strains whose embryo sex cannot be determined through reference to differences in feather color, i.e. exclusively those strains of hens producing white-shelled eggs and traditional strains, representing 15% of laying hens in France (source: National Committee for the Promotion of Eggs), are affected by this eventuality. As a consequence, all eggs from brown hens, making up almost all the shell eggs sold to French consumers, come from production lines where the elimination of male chicks will be prohibited, i.e. 85% of the total number of laying hens in France. France thus remains one of the first countries in the world, along with Germany, to put an end to the systematic culling of male chicks in the laying sector. The revision of the European legislation announced in 2020 by the European Commission offers a window of opportunity to complete the implementation of bans, harmonize practices at the European level and avoid any unfair competition for European producers of laying hens.
