Challenge

The problem

Every year and all over the world millions of day-old male chicks, deemed the ‘brothers’ of laying hens, are culled because they can neither lay eggs nor do they have as much meat on them as broilers do. European countries were the first to decide on ending the practice of culling these day-old male chicks. This topic of discussion has arisen and is moving forward in other countries as well. For many years now, the EW GROUP and its subsidiaries have been involved in exploring multiple approaches that could help overcome this big challenge.

Currently, there is no EU-wide regulation on the culling of male day-old chicks. In Germany, there exists a ban since January 1, 2022.