Animals Are Not Ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment or abuse in any other way.

PETA Australia
  • Action Centre
  • Campaigns
  • Living
  • News
  • About
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
  • Action Centre
  • Campaigns
  • Living
  • News
  • About
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
PETA Australia
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
PETA Search Icon
chick and eggs

Egg Industry Wants to Modify Embryos Genetically to End Killing of Male Chicks

News / Egg Industry Wants to Modify Embryos Genetically to End Killing of Male Chicks

Male chicks are useless to the egg industry. Since they don’t lay eggs and aren’t bred to be large enough to be profitable to the meat industry, they’re treated like “waste products” – and around 12 million are gassed or shredded to death every year in Australia.

Now, new “embryo-sexing” technology aims to modify chicken embryos genetically, leading only female chicks to be hatched.

Each year in Australia, more than 12 million fluffy chicks are tossed alive into an industrial grinder or suffocated with poisonous gases, simply because they're male.

Posted by The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, June 11, 2016

This technology, which is still in its infancy, is not expected to be introduced for a number of years, but it aims eventually to end the current barbaric practice of throwing live chicks into a macerator to be ground up alive or gassing them to death – which can cause chicks to gasp and shake their heads for up to two minutes before finally dying.

What this technology can’t change is the suffering of female chicks, who will continue to be abused and exploited like their mothers so humans can eat eggs.

The egg industry is rife with cruelty, and recent regulations allow even “free-range” chickens to be crammed 10,000 to a hectare. So eliminating male chicks will not eliminate the suffering of animals for egg production.

BREAKING: Yesterday, state and federal ministers signed off on a new national code deciding which eggs can be labelled…

Posted by PETA Australia on Thursday, March 31, 2016

Richard Rayner, chief executive of Specialised Breeders Australia, welcomed the changes but seemingly not because of concern for animals. Calling this a “consumer perception issue”, he then went on to say this:

“It’s not a welfare issue as they do get killed humanely.”

It’s chilling that someone in such a prominent position within the industry (Specialised Breeders Australia accounts for up to 70 per cent of the 13 million female chicks hatched and sold to egg farmers each year) believes that gassing animals or grinding them up alive is “humane”.

Bede Burke, a caged-egg farmer from Tamworth who receives 27,000 female chicks from Specialised Breeders Australia every 20 weeks, also didn’t appear to be concerned about animals but rather about profits, saying this:

“Killing half your chickens and disposing them is a massive cost, and in ovo sex determination solves part of the problem.”

There’s a simpler solution to the cruelty inherent in egg production: we could simply eat something else.

It’s never been easier to choose cruelty-free plant-based foods – and eggs are extremely simple to replace in both cooking and baking. With the discovery of aquafaba, it’s now even possible to make fluffy meringues without harming chickens.

Fluffy Egg-Free Desserts

Vegan bakers discovered chickpea juice acts like an egg white, putting meringues back on the menu.

Posted by Scientific American on Friday, June 10, 2016
Click Here for Our Egg-Replacing Guide
Follow PETA Australia on Facebook

Help Animals in 2025: Renew Your PETA Membership!

Donate Now

Recent Press Hits

  • Gradient background with a white rabbit silhouette and the text ‘PETA.’
    Calling on the Brisbane Broncos to Retire Buck and Renounce Rodeos
  • a baby and adult fox
    © Jeremy Hynes / Unsplash
    Australian Fashion Week Bans Wild-Animal Skins, Furs and Wild Feathers 
  • Gradient background with a white rabbit silhouette and the text ‘PETA.’
    Eurovision: Cheer On Australia’s “Milkshake Man” with Dairy-Free Treats 

Get PETA Updates

Sign me up for the following e-mail:
Our collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information is guided by the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles. More information about our privacy policies and practices is available in our privacy policy. That policy also details how you may access, seek correction of and pursue complaints regarding the personal information we hold about you. If you have any queries about these procedures or any aspect of our work, please contact us on (08) 8556 5828 or at [email protected] or write to us at PO Box 20308, World Square, Sydney NSW 2002. Current subscribers: You will continue to receive e-mails unless you explicitly opt out here.
PETA Fist Logo

Connect with PETA

  • Facebook Icon, PETA International
  • Instagram Icon, PETA International
  • Youtube Icon, PETA International

PETA International Logo

Mailing address:
PO Box 20308 World Square Sydney NSW 2002 ACN – 128209923

Info

  • Contact Us
  • Media Centre
  • Careers
  • Donate Now
  • Subscribe to E-News
  • Bequests

Services

  • Accessibility
  • Site Map
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • © 2025 PETA Australia Pty Ltd. Read our full policy.

International Sites

  • PETA US
  • PETA France
  • PETA Netherlands
  • PETA Germany
  • PETA India
  • PETA UK
  • PETA Asia
  • 亚洲善待动物组织
  • PETA Latino

PETA acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and live. We pay our respects to elders past and present and extend that respect to all other indigenous peoples.

Registered address: PETA Australia Pty Ltd, 219 Henley Beach Road, Torrensville. SA, 5031