Open Letter

Open Letter to Daniel Zeichner and Baroness Ullock, DEFRA

Dear Ministers,

As Members of the Houses of Commons and Lords, industry representatives and organisations committed to upholding the UK’s reputation for high animal welfare standards, we are writing to express our concerns about the continued practice of male chick culling – also known as “hatch and dispatch”. Every year in the UK, 40 to 45 million male chicks are killed in their first days of life, simply because they cannot lay eggs and are not deemed suitable for meat production^[1].

This routine practice – most often carried out by gassing^[2] – is both inhumane and unnecessary. The Government’s own Animal Welfare Committee has stated that male chick culling should be made “illegal as soon as reliable, accurate methods for sexing eggs prior to hatch are available to be implemented in GB hatcheries”. These methods now exist. Advances in “in-ovo” sexing technology allow us to identify the sex of chicks before they hatch, and if performed at an early stage, the procedure eliminates the possibility of the embryo perceiving pain. This technology is already in commercial use in countries like the United States^[3], Germany and France^[4], and others including Italy and the Netherlands are moving in the same direction^[5].

As a nation of animal lovers, the UK is at risk of falling behind both public expectation and international best practice. In Germany and France, governments not only introduced bans but also worked constructively with the egg production industry to manage the transition. The estimated cost increase of one cent per box of six eggs is modest, and evidence suggests the shift can be made with minimal disruption to consumers and producers. Recent polling by the Vegetarian Society finds that consumers would be very happy to pay more for eggs that are “cull-free”. 

The latest polling also shows that the British public strongly favours a ban on male chick culling. 72% of the British public are concerned about the practice and 74% would support a ban by mandating the use of existing technology that determines the sex of chicks before they hatch^[6]. The current system is not only ethically indefensible, but also increasingly out of step with consumer values and international practices. We cannot justifiably continue to think of ourselves as leaders in animal welfare while this outdated practice continues.

As figures within Westminster and industry, we believe that a transition can be achieved through collaboration and foresight between government and industry. A ban now, paired with a clear roadmap and appropriate government support, would demonstrate that the UK continues to take animal welfare seriously. We are calling on the UK Government to modernise an industrial process that no longer aligns with our values as a country – a country that prides itself on its high animal welfare standards.

We urge you to take this opportunity to commit to ending hatch and dispatch in the UK and to ensure that our food system is based, not only on efficiency, but on compassion and integrity too. 

We would welcome a meeting to discuss how best to support a constructive and inclusive transition.

In the interests of transparency, we intend to share both this letter and your response publicly. 

We look forward to hearing from you. 

Yours sincerely,

Alex Sobel, Labour (Co-op) MP for Leeds Central and Headingley 

Irene Campbell, Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran 

Neil Duncan-Jordan, Labour MP for Poole

Mr Toby Perkins, Labour MP for Chesterfield

Will Stone, Labour MP for Swindon North 

Yasmin Qureshi, Labour MP for Bolton South and Walkden

Bob Blackman CBE, Conservative MP for Harrow East

Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat MP for St Albans

Ian Sollom, Liberal Democrat MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire 

Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted 

Vikki Slade, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole

Will Forster, Liberal Democrat MP for Woking

Iqbal Mohamed, Independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Independent MP for Islington North 

John McDonnell, Independent MP for Hayes and Harlington

Adrian Ramsay, Green Party MP for Waveney Valley

Carla Denyer, Green Party MP for Bristol Central

Ellie Chowns, Green Party MP for North Herefordshire

Siȃn Berry, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion 

The Baroness Hodgson of Abinger CBE (Conservative Party) 

The Baroness Redfern (Conservative Party) 

The Rt Hon. the Lord Dholakia OBE DL (Liberal Democrat Party)

The Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party)

The Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party)

The Baroness Cass OBE FRCP FRCPCH (Crossbench) 

The Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE (Crossbench) 

The Rt Rev. the Lord Bishop of Newcastle

Also supported by:

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^[1] Animal Welfare Committee: Opinion on chick culling alternatives: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65eae6e062ff48ff7487b270/AWC_Opinion_on_chick_culling_alternatives.pdf

^[2] As above

^[3] https://kipster.farm/in-ovo-sexing-technology/

^[4] https://innovateanimalag.org/blog/in-ovo-sexing-is-now-the-main-method-of-avoiding-chick-culling-in-germany; https://www.agri-at.com/en/press/19-press-releases-in-ovo/204-france-passes-decree-banning-the-killing-of-chicks-from-2023-onwards

^[5] https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/news/italy-moves-forward-ban-selective-culling-male-chicks; https://www.wattagnet.com/regions/europe/news/15737218/netherlands-to-end-culling-of-male-layer-chicks-by-2026#:~:text=The%20Netherlands%20is%20to%20end,ended%20the%20practice%20in%202022. 

^[6] Vegetarian Society consumer polling, Feb 2025