Petition · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Ban culling of hatched male chicks.

Closed 328 signatures

What the petition asks

We believe chicks do not need to hatch only to be killed within hours. We believe there is no longer any need to cull hatched male chicks, the technology exists via in-ovo sexing which we feel needs to be mandated.
Chicks are born with fully functioning nervous systems - they feel absolutely everything both physically and mentally. They feel nervous when handled aggressively, so the pain they feel during culling is unimaginable.

The three forms of culling are maceration, (being thrown into what is effectively a blender) gas killing and suffocation.

In-ovo sexing shows the gender of the egg before hatching. We think this technology needs to be mandated.

Timeline

27 Oct 2025 Petition opened for signatures
27 Apr 2026 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 328
Status Closed
Department Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Opened 27 Oct 2025
Closed 27 Apr 2026

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 5 Aug 2026.