France to ban the 'grinding up' of male chicks by 2021

France to ban the 'grinding up' of male chicks by 2021
The 'grinding' is a type of chick culling, the process of killing newly hatched chicks deemed useless in the intensive animal farming industry. Credit: Creative commons

The grinding up of chicks and live castration of piglets, two very controversial practices used in livestock farming, will be banned in France at the end of 2021, the minister of agriculture Didier Guillaume announced on Tuesday.

The minister also announced the decision on BFMTV-RMC, taken notably with Germany and Spain, to introduce "from next year" labelling with information "on animal welfare."

The government plans to run an experiment to ensure the consumer gets clear information concerning how the meat products he/she buys are reared, according to reports from AFP.

Regards the grinding up of chicks, "the aim is to force companies, the research to do this ready by the end of 2021, (...) to find the technique that works on a large scale," Guillaume declared.

The 'grinding' is a type of chick culling, the process of killing newly hatched chicks deemed useless in the intensive animal farming industry.

Completing and beefing up measures already in force, the plan envisages improving the quality of life of livestock not only by putting an end to practices causing suffering, including the grinding up of male chicks and live castration of piglets, but also to protect them during transport, according to the press release.

Taking matters farther, the National Reference Centre for Animal Welfare has also been called in "to define practices causing suffering and to identify alternatives," the text of the release points out.

The Brussels Times


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