Report by the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industry.
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Animal Welfare Committee: opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industry , file type: PDF, file size: 362 KB
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The Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) was asked to consider alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industry. These include:
- chicks and embryos from chicken breeds selected for commercial egg production
- chicks and embryos of this species that become broiler (meat) breeder birds
- newly hatched turkey poults
- newly hatched ducklings
AWC was asked to:
- consider if there are promising technologies that could help end the culling of newly hatched male chicks in the laying hen industry. E.g. by identifying and/or determining the sex of the chick embryos before hatching
- identify any welfare risks that might result from newly hatched male chicks no longer being culled
- offer any other ideas or views on this topic