France to ban culling of unwanted male chicks by end of 2021

France has pledged to outlaw the practice of culling unwanted male chicks by the end of 2021, as part of animal welfare reforms.

About seven billion male chicks - not wanted for meat or eggs - are killed around the world each year, usually in shredding machines or by gas.

The government said new methods were emerging that would make it possible to test the sex of embryos inside the egg.


But some campaigners said the reforms did not go far enough.

French Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume announced the reforms at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday.

"From the end of 2021, nothing will be like it was before," he said.

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