{"id": 1305927, "name": "Banning of chick culling", "unit": "", "createdAt": "2026-09-02T19:07:54.000Z", "updatedAt": "2026-09-02T19:07:54.000Z", "coverage": "", "timespan": "2026-2026", "datasetId": 8146, "shortUnit": "", "columnOrder": 0, "shortName": "status", "catalogPath": "grapher/animal_welfare/2026-09-01/chick_culling_laws/chick_culling_laws#status", "descriptionShort": "Legal status of the culling of male chicks in the egg industry.", "descriptionProcessing": "Countries for which we found no law on chick culling are shown as \"Not banned\". Chick culling bans are notable legislative events that animal advocacy organizations track closely, so a country with no known law can safely be assumed to have no ban.", "type": "string", "datasetName": "Chick culling laws", "updatePeriodDays": 365, "datasetVersion": "2026-09-01", "nonRedistributable": false, "display": {}, "schemaVersion": 2, "processingLevel": "major", "presentation": {"topicTagsLinks": ["Animal Welfare"]}, "descriptionKey": "- Chick culling is the killing of newly hatched male chicks, which cannot lay eggs.\n- Hens that lay eggs come from different breeds than chickens raised for meat (called \"broilers\"). The male chicks of egg-laying breeds grow more slowly and give less meat than broilers, so raising them is not profitable.\n- Billions of male baby chicks are estimated to be killed around the world every year.\n- This data shows the legal status of chick culling, not how widely it is practiced.\n- Bans in Austria and France still allow the killing of baby chicks that are used as animal feed.\n- Bans prohibit killing chicks within the country, but not exporting them. After Germany's ban, male chicks have reportedly been transported to other countries where culling remains legal.\n- There is no EU-wide ban on chick culling. The European Commission has committed to proposing EU-wide rules to end the systematic killing of male chicks by the end of 2026.\n- The main alternative to chick culling is \"in-ovo sexing\", a technology that determines the sex of the embryo inside the egg, so that eggs with male embryos can be discarded well before hatching.\n- Ducklings are also killed soon after hatching in major duck-egg producing countries like China. No law specifically bans the culling of ducklings.\n- France's ban on chick culling explicitly excludes ducklings. In foie gras production it is the female ducklings that are killed, as their livers are less profitable.", "dimensions": {"years": {"values": [{"id": 2026}]}, "entities": {"values": [{"id": 15, "name": "Afghanistan", "code": "AFG"}, {"id": 296, "name": "Aland Islands", "code": "ALA"}, {"id": 16, "name": "Albania", "code": "ALB"}, {"id": 17, "name": "Algeria", "code": "DZA"}, {"id": 246, "name": "American Samoa", "code": "ASM"}, {"id": 18, "name": "Andorra", "code": "AND"}, {"id": 19, "name": "Angola", "code": "AGO"}, {"id": 228, "name": "Anguilla", "code": "AIA"}, {"id": 20, "name": "Antigua and Barbuda", "code": "ATG"}, {"id": 21, "name": "Argentina", "code": "ARG"}, {"id": 22, "name": "Armenia", "code": "ARM"}, {"id": 219, "name": "Aruba", "code": "ABW"}, {"id": 23, "name": "Australia", "code": "AUS"}, {"id": 24, "name": "Austria", "code": "AUT"}, {"id": 25, "name": "Azerbaijan", "code": "AZE"}, {"id": 26, "name": "Bahamas", "code": "BHS"}, {"id": 27, "name": "Bahrain", "code": "BHR"}, {"id": 28, "name": "Bangladesh", "code": "BGD"}, {"id": 29, "name": "Barbados", "code": "BRB"}, {"id": 30, "name": "Belarus", "code": "BLR"}, {"id": 4, "name": "Belgium", "code": "BEL"}, {"id": 31, "name": "Belize", "code": "BLZ"}, {"id": 32, "name": "Benin", "code": "BEN"}, {"id": 194, "name": "Bermuda", "code": "BMU"}, {"id": 33, "name": "Bhutan", "code": "BTN"}, {"id": 34, "name": "Bolivia", "code": "BOL"}, {"id": 348, "name": "Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba", "code": "BES"}, {"id": 35, "name": "Bosnia and Herzegovina", "code": "BIH"}, {"id": 36, "name": "Botswana", "code": "BWA"}, {"id": 349, "name": "Bouvet Island", "code": "BVT"}, {"id": 37, "name": "Brazil", "code": "BRA"}, {"id": 351, "name": "British Indian Ocean Territory", "code": "IOT"}, {"id": 196, "name": "British Virgin Islands", "code": "VGB"}, {"id": 38, "name": "Brunei", "code": "BRN"}, {"id": 39, "name": "Bulgaria", "code": "BGR"}, {"id": 40, "name": "Burkina Faso", "code": "BFA"}, {"id": 41, "name": "Burundi", "code": "BDI"}, {"id": 42, "name": "Cambodia", "code": "KHM"}, {"id": 43, "name": "Cameroon", "code": "CMR"}, {"id": 44, "name": "Canada", "code": "CAN"}, {"id": 45, "name": "Cape Verde", "code": "CPV"}, {"id": 197, "name": "Cayman Islands", "code": "CYM"}, {"id": 174, "name": "Central African Republic", "code": "CAF"}, {"id": 173, "name": "Chad", "code": "TCD"}, {"id": 172, "name": "Chile", "code": "CHL"}, {"id": 171, "name": "China", "code": "CHN"}, {"id": 247, "name": "Christmas Island", "code": "CXR"}, {"id": 263, "name": "Cocos Islands", "code": "CCK"}, {"id": 170, "name": "Colombia", "code": "COL"}, {"id": 169, "name": "Comoros", "code": "COM"}, {"id": 168, "name": "Congo", "code": "COG"}, {"id": 199, "name": "Cook Islands", "code": "COK"}, {"id": 166, "name": "Costa Rica", "code": "CRI"}, {"id": 143, "name": "Cote d'Ivoire", "code": "CIV"}, {"id": 165, "name": "Croatia", "code": "HRV"}, {"id": 164, "name": "Cuba", "code": "CUB"}, {"id": 279, "name": "Curacao", "code": "CUW"}, {"id": 163, "name": "Cyprus", "code": "CYP"}, {"id": 162, "name": "Czechia", "code": "CZE"}, {"id": 167, "name": "Democratic Republic of Congo", "code": "COD"}, {"id": 161, "name": "Denmark", "code": "DNK"}, {"id": 154, "name": "Djibouti", "code": "DJI"}, {"id": 200, "name": "Dominica", "code": "DMA"}, {"id": 160, "name": "Dominican Republic", "code": "DOM"}, {"id": 225, "name": "East Timor", "code": "TLS"}, {"id": 201, "name": "Ecuador", "code": "ECU"}, {"id": 65, "name": "Egypt", "code": "EGY"}, {"id": 259, "name": "El Salvador", "code": "SLV"}, {"id": 159, "name": "Equatorial Guinea", "code": "GNQ"}, {"id": 157, "name": "Eritrea", "code": "ERI"}, {"id": 156, "name": "Estonia", "code": "EST"}, {"id": 78, "name": "Eswatini", "code": "SWZ"}, {"id": 158, "name": "Ethiopia", "code": "ETH"}, {"id": 249, "name": "Falkland Islands", "code": "FLK"}, {"id": 250, "name": "Faroe Islands", "code": "FRO"}, {"id": 202, "name": "Fiji", "code": "FJI"}, {"id": 155, "name": "Finland", "code": "FIN"}, {"id": 3, "name": "France", "code": "FRA"}, {"id": 253, "name": "French Guiana", "code": "GUF"}, {"id": 203, "name": "French Polynesia", "code": "PYF"}, {"id": 347, "name": "French Southern Territories", "code": "ATF"}, {"id": 153, "name": "Gabon", "code": "GAB"}, {"id": 151, "name": "Gambia", "code": "GMB"}, {"id": 285743, "name": "Gaza Strip", "code": "PS_GZA"}, {"id": 152, "name": "Georgia", "code": "GEO"}, {"id": 6, "name": "Germany", "code": "DEU"}, {"id": 150, "name": "Ghana", "code": "GHA"}, {"id": 251, "name": "Gibraltar", "code": "GIB"}, {"id": 149, "name": "Greece", "code": "GRC"}, {"id": 205, "name": "Greenland", "code": "GRL"}, {"id": 206, "name": "Grenada", "code": "GRD"}, {"id": 252, "name": "Guadeloupe", "code": "GLP"}, {"id": 254, "name": "Guam", "code": "GUM"}, {"id": 148, "name": "Guatemala", "code": "GTM"}, {"id": 282, "name": "Guernsey", "code": "GGY"}, {"id": 147, "name": "Guinea", "code": "GIN"}, {"id": 94, "name": "Guinea-Bissau", "code": "GNB"}, {"id": 146, "name": "Guyana", "code": "GUY"}, {"id": 145, "name": "Haiti", "code": "HTI"}, {"id": 350, "name": "Heard Island and McDonald Islands", "code": "HMD"}, {"id": 139, "name": "Honduras", "code": "HND"}, {"id": 144, "name": "Hong Kong", "code": "HKG"}, {"id": 138, "name": "Hungary", "code": "HUN"}, {"id": 207, "name": "Iceland", "code": "ISL"}, {"id": 137, "name": "India", "code": "IND"}, {"id": 136, "name": "Indonesia", "code": "IDN"}, {"id": 135, "name": "Iran", "code": "IRN"}, {"id": 134, "name": "Iraq", "code": "IRQ"}, {"id": 2, "name": "Ireland", "code": "IRL"}, {"id": 265, "name": "Isle of Man", "code": "IMN"}, {"id": 133, "name": "Israel", "code": "ISR"}, {"id": 8, "name": "Italy", "code": "ITA"}, {"id": 132, "name": "Jamaica", "code": "JAM"}, {"id": 14, "name": "Japan", "code": "JPN"}, {"id": 283, "name": "Jersey", "code": "JEY"}, {"id": 130, "name": "Jordan", "code": "JOR"}, {"id": 131, "name": "Kazakhstan", "code": "KAZ"}, {"id": 129, "name": "Kenya", "code": "KEN"}, {"id": 204, "name": "Kiribati", "code": "KIR"}, {"id": 379, "name": "Kosovo", "code": "OWID_KOS"}, {"id": 208, "name": "Kuwait", "code": "KWT"}, {"id": 126, "name": "Kyrgyzstan", "code": "KGZ"}, {"id": 125, "name": "Laos", "code": "LAO"}, {"id": 122, "name": "Latvia", "code": "LVA"}, {"id": 124, "name": "Lebanon", "code": "LBN"}, {"id": 123, "name": "Lesotho", "code": "LSO"}, {"id": 121, "name": "Liberia", "code": "LBR"}, {"id": 120, "name": "Libya", "code": "LBY"}, {"id": 209, "name": "Liechtenstein", "code": "LIE"}, {"id": 119, "name": "Lithuania", "code": "LTU"}, {"id": 210, "name": "Luxembourg", "code": "LUX"}, {"id": 262, "name": "Macao", "code": "MAC"}, {"id": 118, "name": "Madagascar", "code": "MDG"}, {"id": 117, "name": "Malawi", "code": "MWI"}, {"id": 116, "name": "Malaysia", "code": "MYS"}, {"id": 211, "name": "Maldives", "code": "MDV"}, {"id": 115, "name": "Mali", "code": "MLI"}, {"id": 212, "name": "Malta", "code": "MLT"}, {"id": 223, "name": "Marshall Islands", "code": "MHL"}, {"id": 284, "name": "Martinique", "code": "MTQ"}, {"id": 114, "name": "Mauritania", "code": "MRT"}, {"id": 213, "name": "Mauritius", "code": "MUS"}, {"id": 193, "name": "Mayotte", "code": "MYT"}, {"id": 113, "name": "Mexico", "code": "MEX"}, {"id": 222, "name": "Micronesia (country)", "code": "FSM"}, {"id": 111, "name": "Moldova", "code": "MDA"}, {"id": 214, "name": "Monaco", "code": "MCO"}, {"id": 112, "name": "Mongolia", "code": "MNG"}, {"id": 215, "name": "Montenegro", "code": "MNE"}, {"id": 216, "name": "Montserrat", "code": "MSR"}, {"id": 110, "name": "Morocco", "code": "MAR"}, {"id": 109, "name": "Mozambique", "code": "MOZ"}, {"id": 142, "name": "Myanmar", "code": "MMR"}, {"id": 108, "name": "Namibia", "code": "NAM"}, {"id": 218, "name": "Nauru", "code": "NRU"}, {"id": 107, "name": "Nepal", "code": "NPL"}, {"id": 5, "name": "Netherlands", "code": "NLD"}, {"id": 220, "name": "New Caledonia", "code": "NCL"}, {"id": 106, "name": "New Zealand", "code": "NZL"}, {"id": 105, "name": "Nicaragua", "code": "NIC"}, {"id": 104, "name": "Niger", "code": "NER"}, {"id": 103, "name": "Nigeria", "code": "NGA"}, {"id": 261, "name": "Niue", "code": "NIU"}, {"id": 285, "name": "Norfolk Island", "code": "NFK"}, {"id": 128, "name": "North Korea", "code": "PRK"}, {"id": 66, "name": "North Macedonia", "code": "MKD"}, {"id": 266, "name": "Northern Mariana Islands", "code": "MNP"}, {"id": 102, "name": "Norway", "code": "NOR"}, {"id": 217, "name": "Oman", "code": "OMN"}, {"id": 101, "name": "Pakistan", "code": "PAK"}, {"id": 224, "name": "Palau", "code": "PLW"}, {"id": 140, "name": "Palestine", "code": "PSE"}, {"id": 100, "name": "Panama", "code": "PAN"}, {"id": 99, "name": "Papua New Guinea", "code": "PNG"}, {"id": 98, "name": "Paraguay", "code": "PRY"}, {"id": 97, "name": "Peru", "code": "PER"}, {"id": 96, "name": "Philippines", "code": "PHL"}, {"id": 286, "name": "Pitcairn", "code": "PCN"}, {"id": 11, "name": "Poland", "code": "POL"}, {"id": 95, "name": "Portugal", "code": "PRT"}, {"id": 93, "name": "Puerto Rico", "code": "PRI"}, {"id": 226, "name": "Qatar", "code": "QAT"}, {"id": 245, "name": "Reunion", "code": "REU"}, {"id": 92, "name": "Romania", "code": "ROU"}, {"id": 12, "name": "Russia", "code": "RUS"}, {"id": 91, "name": "Rwanda", "code": "RWA"}, {"id": 297, "name": "Saint Barthelemy", "code": "BLM"}, {"id": 260, "name": "Saint Helena", "code": "SHN"}, {"id": 227, "name": "Saint Kitts and Nevis", "code": "KNA"}, {"id": 229, "name": "Saint Lucia", "code": "LCA"}, {"id": 280, "name": "Saint Martin (French part)", "code": "MAF"}, {"id": 353, "name": "Saint Pierre and Miquelon", "code": "SPM"}, {"id": 230, "name": "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines", "code": "VCT"}, {"id": 239, "name": "Samoa", "code": "WSM"}, {"id": 231, "name": "San Marino", "code": "SMR"}, {"id": 232, "name": "Sao Tome and Principe", "code": "STP"}, {"id": 90, "name": "Saudi Arabia", "code": "SAU"}, {"id": 89, "name": "Senegal", "code": "SEN"}, {"id": 88, "name": "Serbia", "code": "SRB"}, {"id": 233, "name": "Seychelles", "code": "SYC"}, {"id": 87, "name": "Sierra Leone", "code": "SLE"}, {"id": 86, "name": "Singapore", "code": "SGP"}, {"id": 281, "name": "Sint Maarten (Dutch part)", "code": "SXM"}, {"id": 85, "name": "Slovakia", "code": "SVK"}, {"id": 83, "name": "Slovenia", "code": "SVN"}, {"id": 195, "name": "Solomon Islands", "code": "SLB"}, {"id": 82, "name": "Somalia", "code": "SOM"}, {"id": 81, "name": "South Africa", "code": "ZAF"}, {"id": 352, "name": "South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands", "code": "SGS"}, {"id": 127, "name": "South Korea", "code": "KOR"}, {"id": 258, "name": "South Sudan", "code": "SSD"}, {"id": 9, "name": "Spain", "code": "ESP"}, {"id": 141, "name": "Sri Lanka", "code": "LKA"}, {"id": 79, "name": "Sudan", "code": "SDN"}, {"id": 234, "name": "Suriname", "code": "SUR"}, {"id": 10, "name": "Sweden", "code": "SWE"}, {"id": 7, "name": "Switzerland", "code": "CHE"}, {"id": 77, "name": "Syria", "code": "SYR"}, {"id": 198, "name": "Taiwan", "code": "TWN"}, {"id": 76, "name": "Tajikistan", "code": "TJK"}, {"id": 64, "name": "Tanzania", "code": "TZA"}, {"id": 75, "name": "Thailand", "code": "THA"}, {"id": 74, "name": "Togo", "code": "TGO"}, {"id": 287, "name": "Tokelau", "code": "TKL"}, {"id": 235, "name": "Tonga", "code": "TON"}, {"id": 73, "name": "Trinidad and Tobago", "code": "TTO"}, {"id": 71, "name": "Tunisia", "code": "TUN"}, {"id": 70, "name": "Turkey", "code": "TUR"}, {"id": 69, "name": "Turkmenistan", "code": "TKM"}, {"id": 236, "name": "Turks and Caicos Islands", "code": "TCA"}, {"id": 237, "name": "Tuvalu", "code": "TUV"}, {"id": 68, "name": "Uganda", "code": "UGA"}, {"id": 67, "name": "Ukraine", "code": "UKR"}, {"id": 72, "name": "United Arab Emirates", "code": "ARE"}, {"id": 1, "name": "United Kingdom", "code": "GBR"}, {"id": 13, "name": "United States", "code": "USA"}, {"id": 256, "name": "United States Virgin Islands", "code": "VIR"}, {"id": 63, "name": "Uruguay", "code": "URY"}, {"id": 62, "name": "Uzbekistan", "code": "UZB"}, {"id": 221, "name": "Vanuatu", "code": "VUT"}, {"id": 257, "name": "Vatican", "code": "VAT"}, {"id": 238, "name": "Venezuela", "code": "VEN"}, {"id": 84, "name": "Vietnam", "code": "VNM"}, {"id": 255, "name": "Wallis and Futuna", "code": "WLF"}, {"id": 248, "name": "Western Sahara", "code": "ESH"}, {"id": 61, "name": "Yemen", "code": "YEM"}, {"id": 60, "name": "Zambia", "code": "ZMB"}, {"id": 80, "name": "Zimbabwe", "code": "ZWE"}]}}, "origins": [{"id": 21209, "title": "Chick culling laws", "description": "Male baby chicks are commonly killed in laying hen hatcheries all around the world, as they provide no value for the egg production industry. Only a minority of countries have laws banning this practice. This dataset is a compilation of national laws banning chick culling, gathered from official sources. Countries with no known law on chick culling are assumed to have no ban.", "producer": "Various sources", "citationFull": "Evidence of laws banning chick culling, and of notable legislative activity in countries without a ban, has been gathered from official sources for each country. Some of those sources were extracted from [a report by the European Institute for Animal Law & Policy](https://animallaweurope.org/wp-content/uploads/Chick-and-Duckling-Killing-UPDATE-December-2024.pdf): \"Chick and Duckling Killing: Achieving an EU-Wide Prohibition\" (White paper, updated December 2024) by Alice Di Concetto, Olivier Morice, Matthias Corion, Sim\u00e3o Santos.\n\nSources for the countries with a full or partial ban (the status and the year when the ban became, or will become, effective are given in the data):\n- Austria: [Section 6(2a) of the Animal Welfare Act (\u00a7 6 Abs. 2a Tierschutzgesetz)](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20003541). Chicks used for feed production are exempt.\n- Belgium: [Walloon Government communiqu\u00e9, 3 July 2025 (Communiqu\u00e9 du Gouvernement de Wallonie, 3 juillet 2025)](https://www.wallonie.be/fr/acteurs-et-institutions/wallonie/gouvernement-de-wallonie/communiques-presse/2025-07-03-0). Regional measures only: Wallonia banned the grinding of live chicks (a ban on gassing is under discussion), and Flanders approved [a ban on killing day-old chicks](https://www.vlaamsparlement.be/nl/actueel/nieuws-uit-het-vlaams-parlement/wanneer-komt-er-een-verbod-op-het-doden-van-eendagshaantjes) in its Animal Welfare Code, which will only take effect on a date yet to be decided.\n- France: [Article R 214-17(II) of the Rural Code (Article R 214-17(II) du Code rural et de la p\u00eache maritime)](https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000045129069). Chicks used for animal feed are exempt.\n- Germany: [Section 4c of the Animal Welfare Act (\u00a7 4c Tierschutzgesetz)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tierschg/BJNR012770972.html).\n- Italy: [Legislative Decree 205/2023 (Decreto Legislativo 7 dicembre 2023, n. 205)](https://www.normattiva.it/eli/id/2023/12/23/23G00212/ORIGINAL). Implementing guidelines on in-ovo sexing were published in September 2025.\n- Luxembourg: [Article 12(13) of the Law of 27 June 2018 on animal protection (Loi du 27 juin 2018 sur la protection des animaux)](https://legilux.public.lu/eli/etat/leg/loi/2018/06/27/a537/jo). General prohibition on killing animals for purely economic reasons.\n- Switzerland: [Article 20(g) of the Animal Protection Ordinance (Art. 20 Bst. g Tierschutzverordnung)](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2008/416/de). Shredding of live chicks is banned, and destroying embryos from day 13 of incubation is also banned since February 2025, but killing hatched chicks by gas remains legal.\n\nCountries without a ban, but with formal initiatives or discussions about ending chick culling:\n- European Union: [EU Livestock Strategy, European Commission (COM(2026) 576 final)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52026DC0576). The European Commission intends to propose, by the end of 2026, a revision of animal welfare rules for laying hens and broilers that includes ending the systematic killing of male chicks.\n- Brazil: [Bill PL 783/2024, Chamber of Deputies of Brazil (Projeto de Lei 783/2024, C\u00e2mara dos Deputados)](https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/fichadetramitacao?idProposicao=2421303). A bill to ban the cruel disposal of chicks is under discussion in Congress.\n- Netherlands: [Parliamentary letter on the chick culling roadmap, Dutch Government (Kamerbrief aanbieden roadmap eendagshaantjes)](https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/kamerstukken/2025/02/11/kamerbrief-aanbieden-roadmap-eendagshaantjes). A voluntary agreement between the government and the egg sector phases out the culling of male chicks for table-egg production from 2026, but it is not legally binding.\n- Norway: [Parliamentary recommendation on the animal welfare white paper (Innst. 200 S (2024-2025), Stortinget)](https://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Publikasjoner/Innstillinger/Stortinget/2024-2025/inns-202425-200s/). A parliamentary proposal to ban chick culling was rejected in 2025; the industry pledged to adopt in-ovo sexing by July 2027.\n- United Kingdom: [The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 (WATOK)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1782/schedule/2/paragraph/44/made). The government's 2025 animal welfare strategy encourages the industry to end chick culling, but has no legal force.\n\nAll other countries are shown as not banned: no law against chick culling is known there. For European Union countries, this is confirmed (as of December 2024) by the report above.", "urlMain": "https://animallaweurope.org/wp-content/uploads/Chick-and-Duckling-Killing-UPDATE-December-2024.pdf", "dateAccessed": "2026-09-01", "datePublished": "2026-09-01", "license": {"name": "CC BY 4.0"}}]}