France ends the killing of roosters of egg-laying breeds

As of January 1, 2023, France has confirmed that it will honor its commitments and stop the culling of laying hens, the Food Chain Risk Assessment Center said on its website. France is the leading producer of eggs in the European Union (EU) and currently destroys nearly 50 million male egg-laying chickens annually on the first day after hatching, and around 300 million are culled annually in the European Union (EU). These roosters are killed because they won't lay eggs and they aren't the right breed to be used for meat - they don't fatten up fast enough and don't build enough muscle mass. US chicken exports continue to break records The practice has been common since the 1950s, when the industry developed a way to determine the sex of day-old chicks and after broiler egg and meat production became highly specialized. In recent years, this considered cruel method has become the subject of public concern and has been heavily criticized by various social groups and public ...