‘Chick disposal’ is something the egg industry doesn’t like to talk about. And is it any wonder? It’s hard to imagine eggs selling like hotcakes if carton packaging was up front about this:
It’s the brutal reality of commercial egg production: millions of tiny male chicks ground up alive or suffocated every year because they don’t lay eggs. These little guys aren’t considered ‘commercially viable’ to be raised — after all, they’ll never lay eggs, and they’re not suitable to be raised for meat.
That half of all chicks born into the egg industry are male poses an enormous ethical issue — not to mention a potential public relations problem for the the egg industry. But finally, there may be hope on the horizon that this brutal practice could come to an end.
Scientists and animal rights campaigners have teamed up in Germany to come up with an alternative option to the mass-slaughter of the 45 million male chicks born into the country’s egg industry each year. A company called Seleggt has developed technology that will determine the sex of each fertilised egg before the chick inside develops — enabling the removal of all male-identified eggs from the hatchery, and leaving only the female eggs to hatch.
Seleggt are aiming to provide this technology FREE to hatcheries in Germany by 2020! This means ‘chick shredding’ could soon be a thing of the past in Germany — which could make it the first country in the world to end the cruel practice.
Learn more about egg production in Australia:
If Germany can pull it off, what’s stopping everyone else?
Millions of tiny chicks are ‘disposed of’ every year in Australia — and while caring people would never condone this ruthless treatment of vulnerable babies, most people have no idea it’s even going on. Though it may not surprise you to hear that this is perfectly ‘normal’ in the caged egg industry (the same one that continues to defend the use of cruel battery cages) — the tragic reality is that the slaughter of male chicks is standard across all types of commercial egg farming — free range included.
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Sadly, the egg industry is not the only industry which shreds newborn chicks alive. The Australian chicken meat industry recommends that ‘unviable’ chicks be gassed or thrown into mincing machines — alive. This is the fate of roughly 3 million chicks born into the Australian chicken meat industry (and over 12 million male chicks born into the Australian egg industry) every year.
But while the Aussie chicken meat and egg industries consider this callous treatment of day-old chicks ‘normal’ — you don’t have to accept it. Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to stand up for chicks and hens by reducing your meat and egg intake — there are so many egg alternatives and tasty plant-based recipes to choose from.
1 in 3 Australians are already eating plant-based meals, or reducing their animal products. Our starter kit has helped thousands take their first steps towards a kinder way of eating.
