More than three-quarters of Brits would choose to buy ‘cull-free’ eggs if they could, and would be willing to pay an extra 1p per egg to do so, a new poll has found.
The UK egg industry kills between 40 million and 45 million male chicks, which can’t be used for meat and can’t lay eggs, each year in a process called hatch and dispatch.
In a poll commissioned by the Vegetarian Society of 2,761 people, 76% of respondents said they would be willing to pay an extra penny per egg to help put a stop to this practice, which is what the charity said it would cost.
Installing in-ovo sexing technology in the UK – which identifies the sex of the chick by around day nine of incubation (before it can feel pain or distress) – would add less than 1p to the cost of an egg.
The Vegetarian Society warned that the UK risked falling behind on animal welfare, as the practice is already banned in France and Germany, with in-ovo technology mandated for use in these countries.
The Netherlands and Italy are set to follow suit, and there is discussion on an EU-wide ban on hatch and dispatch.
The results of the latest polling showed that only 5% of UK adults would be unwilling to pay the extra penny.
“The British public, when made aware of this issue, are quite rightly appalled,” said Richard McIlwain, CEO of the Vegetarian Society. “Hatch and dispatch condemns 40million to 45 million male chicks a year to a brief, pointless life of suffering and a potentially painful death.
“What’s worse is that hatch and dispatch is completely unnecessary. The technology exists to make it a thing of the past – as it now is in France and Germany.”
At present, it is not possible to buy ‘cull-free’, high-welfare eggs in supermarkets owing to a lack of UK investment in in-ovo sexing technology that would enable hatcheries to eliminate male chick culling.
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