Following today's debate in the Bundestag's Agriculture Committee, the German Animal Welfare Federation has criticized the fact that the "traffic light" coalition is "silently" watering down the existing ban on killing chicks. Instead of tackling the root of the animal welfare problem, a single study is being used to legitimize the killing of chicken embryos before the 13th day of incubation.
"The amendment to the law banning the killing of chicks is being rushed through silently and without parliamentary debate by the traffic light coalition. The planned amendment to the law will cement sex determination in the egg as a technical "solution" - and thus permanently legitimize the "disposal" of male embryos for economic reasons. The suffering of overbred laying hens and broiler chickens will continue to be accepted," criticizes Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation. Instead of just treating the symptoms of a broken system, the German Animal Welfare Federation believes a system change is needed: away from animal-hostile high-performance breeding and towards so-called dual-purpose chickens that lay eggs as well as producing meat - and where the problem of an economically worthless male does not even arise.
According to current legislation, the killing of chicken embryos in the egg from the 7th day of incubation is also prohibited from January 1, 2024. According to a formulation aid presented by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the ban will now only apply from the 13th day of incubation. The BMEL is referring to a research project that considers it impossible for embryos to feel pain before the 13th day of incubation. However, previous studies have come to different conclusions: A sensation of pain could not be ruled out from the 7th day of incubation. "The BMEL's approach of making a far-reaching change to animal welfare legislation based on a single study is premature and short-sighted," said Schröder.
Note to editors:
With its current campaign "Now more animal welfare!", the German Animal Welfare Federation provides information on which announcements from the coalition agreement the coalition government has already tackled and where there are only empty promises so far: www.jetzt-mehr-tierschutz.de
