According to media reports, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (BMEL) wants to relax the requirements of the chick killing ban and allow the destruction of chicken embryos after the 7th day of hatching in the future. The killing of hatched day-old chicks has been prohibited since January 1, 2022. From January 1, 2024, the law on chick killing enacted by the then Federal Minister Julia Klöckner should take full effect: with a ban that also includes the killing of pain-sensitive embryos in the egg after the 7th day of incubation. Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, comments on the new developments:
"Cem Özdemir is now falling into the trap that his predecessor set for him with an inadequate bill. Julia Klöckner never asked the systemic question, but merely wanted a technical solution to maintain the anti-animal welfare system of high-performance egg production. The fundamental mistake of this law was that the industry was given a loophole with the sex determination in the egg and the killing of embryos, which it is now using for economic interests. Animal Welfare Minister Cem Özdemir must quickly submit a bill to the Bundestag that tackles the problem of chick killing at its root, instead of just treating the symptoms of a system of one-sided specialized high-performance breeding. The killing of chicks, whether in the egg or after hatching, must be rigorously banned. On the other hand, the switch to so-called dual-purpose chickens must be sought and promoted. All other alternatives place economic benefit above animal welfare and therefore violate the state objective of animal welfare enshrined in the German Basic Law."
