Nine EU countries are pushing for a Europe-wide ban to the systematic extermination of male chicks in farms.
"In the European Union alone, each year, hundreds of millions male chicks from laying hen hatcheries are disposed of after hatching, due to a lack of economic value," the group, led by France and Germany, said in a memo circulated earlier this week in the EU Council in Brussels.
"This practice of killing newly born chicks does not meet the expectations of European consumers...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.