Guidelines published to stop the killing of male chicks in Italian egg industry
Every year in the egg industry – in the UK, Italy, and all around the world – newborn male chicks are cruelly killed, simply because they do not produce eggs and are considered ‘worthless’ to the egg industry. They are typically gassed to death or ‘macerated’ (ground up alive).
You can end this extreme and needless suffering today, simply by no longer consuming eggs or other animal products. In the meantime, we are fighting tirelessly around the world to end this terrible practice. And, in Italy, we have achieved an historic breakthrough in our campaign!
October 2025: the guidelines are now a reality
After months of calls, street demonstrations, and Government pressure, guidelines for implementing in-ovo sexing in Italian hatcheries have been published. In-ovo technology can deduce the sex of the chick inside the egg, preventing male chicks from being born and then immediately killed.
The Italian Government guidelines will put an end to the cruel killing of day-old chicks starting from 31st December 2026 and is expected to spare an estimated 34 million chicks every year from being ground alive within their first 24 hours of life. Hatcheries will be required to use in-ovo sexing systems that identify the sex of the embryo before hatching, specifically by the 14th day of incubation.
What’s wrong with the guidelines
Despite this major milestone, there are still critical issues. Chicks that are born due to sexing errors (estimated between 350,000 and 1.4 million every year) may still be killed, albeit by a different method: carbon dioxide inhalation instead of grinding.
There is also a transparency problem. The decree allows producers to label their eggs as coming from farms that ‘do not kill male chicks’. However, this self-certification is misleading, as companies will still be able to use this label even if they continue killing the chicks that hatch due to sexing errors.
While the guidance is undoubtedly an extraordinary achievement, our work doesn’t stop here. We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the law is properly enforced and that no chick – including those born due to errors in the technology – is treated as ‘waste’ ever again.
Animal Equality’s work to stop the slaughter of male chicks
Years of dialogue, pressure, and public action led by Animal Equality has prompted the Italy Government to finally say ‘enough’ to one of the cruellest practices in the animal agriculture industry: the killing of male chicks.
Since 2020, when our team in Italy first launched a petition – signed by 110,000 Italian citizens – we have never stopped.
We achieved a law in 2022, and since then, we have fought every day to make sure it would mean something in practice, not just on paper.
Over the past year, we have been everywhere: in front of ministries, at the Colosseum where we illuminated with the faces of Ministers responsible for enacting the ban, across the streets of Rome with 160 billboards, and in Rimini and Trento confronting Ministers directly.
The Government tried to stop us, to delay the process, to ignore us. But our voices only grew louder.
2020: the first petition, signed by over 100,000 Italian citizens
Years ago, achieving a law like this seemed like a dream. The road ahead was daunting and full of challenges, but we didn’t let that stop us.
In July 2020, we launched our petition to unite all those who, like us, could no longer tolerate the suffering of male chicks. The campaign ‘Stop the Slaughter of Male Chicks’ gathered 110,000 signatures, a cry too powerful to be ignored.
To make our actions even more effective, in the same year we published a report: “In-ovo sexing: an alternative to the killing of day-old chicks” – the first of its kind in Italy. It analysed the issue and presented possible solutions through a detailed overview of the available technologies.
December 2020: Assoavi says yes
We achieved a significant milestone: Assoavi, the national association representing Italy’s largest egg producers, responded positively to our call, committing to the introduction of in-ovo sexing in the country.
This announcement came after extensive dialogue between Assoavi and our Italian Corporate Outreach department. With the egg industry now on board, it was time to put pressure on institutions to make our demand become law.
2022: The law is approved
Finally, after two years of tireless work between the streets and Parliament, in 2022 the Italian Government approved the ban on killing male chicks in the egg industry by 2026.
This means that, by that date, Italy will officially make it illegal to kill millions of chicks simply because they are deemed ‘useless’ for production.
Thanks to this change, an estimated 34 to 36 million chicks will be spared every year from a violent death that, for decades, condemned billions of animals to unimaginable suffering in almost total silence.
It’s an historic result, proof that change is possible when we never stop demanding justice for animals.
February 2025: The time for excuses is over: we launch our manifesto
Only through the publication of the implementation guidelines can the ban become a reality. That’s why, at the beginning of 2025, we launched a manifesto in Italy urging the responsible ministers to act immediately.
We mobilised public opinion through online campaigns and direct actions, led by our digital volunteers – Animal Protectors – addressing Ministers Lollobrigida (Agriculture), Urso (Made in Italy), and Schillaci (Health).
In just one year, we contacted over 50 politicians, sparking the interest of MPs and Senators who submitted parliamentary questions in support of our cause.
We sent nearly 16,000 emails, left over 43,000 comments, and demonstrated in front of the Ministries of Agriculture and Health in Rome. From that moment on nothing could stop us.
2024 and 2025: two years of relentless pressure
November 2024: Rome: our activists held two flash mobs outside the Ministries of Agriculture and Health, denouncing the delays in enforcing the law banning the killing of tens of millions of male chicks.
February 2025: We light up the Colosseum, saying ‘Stop the slaughter of male chicks’. We projected the faces of Ministers Lollobrigida, Schillaci, and Urso – those who could change the chicks’ fate – and a video showing the truth about chick grinding.
March 2025: Rome: during the Agricoltura È fair, where Minister Lollobrigida was also present, authorities tried to keep us 500 meters away to silence us. But Rome heard us anyway: our voices rang loud and clear, and a mobile billboard truck drove through the city carrying our message everywhere.
April 2025: Does Lollobrigida sleep well at night? We covered several Italian cities with posters exposing the Government’s silence.
May 2025: MACFRUT fair, Rimini: we confronted Minister Lollobrigida about the shameful delays blocking the ban, while our mobile billboard circled the fair throughout the event.
May 2025: Trento, Festival of Economics: we made ourselves heard again, addressing our questions directly to Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso.
June 2025: Rome wakes up differently. 160 billboards appeared across the capital in strategic locations.
July 2025: Schillaci failed at the Ministry of Health. We asked: “Minister Schillaci, how long will it take to do the right thing?”
October 2025: They tried to intimidate us. We unfurled a banner from a bridge in central Rome and authorities seized it, simply because we peacefully showed a message in defense of animals.
In the UK millions of male chicks are also cruelly killed in the egg industry each year. If this concerns you, as it does us, please sign our petition today to end factory farming. We must speak out loudly and proudly for these animals, today and every day.
THANK YOU FOR DEFENDING FARMED ANIMALS!
Please, help us spread the word. Share this petition with your friends and family.
THANK YOU!
Your actions are changing the world for animals everywhere. Thank you again for your support and we’ll keep you updated of any progress we make.
Abigail Penny
Executive Director Animal Equality UK
Help us end factory farming in the UK – SIGN NOW!
save animals, eat plant based
As a consumer, you hold the power to protect animals from the meat industry. Every plant-based meal saves animals from a life of misery in factory farms and slaughterhouses.
