The challenges of Walloon male chicks from laying hens: can animal welfare match farming territorialisation?

To meet societal expectations and comply with relevant European Directives, several European countries are implementing their own legislation on animal welfare. Consistently, the Walloon Minister of the Environment (Belgium) prohibited the crushing of male laying chicks. This so-called "good farming practice" was deemed to be respectful of the lives of the chickens. However, the alternatives to be implemented in the production chain that this decision on animal welfare requires could undermine the territorialisation of layer hen farming in Wallonia. Indeed, the attachment of layer hen farming to the soil, its sustainability, and its family forms are presented as under threat by the stakeholders. Is premature death the only means to preserve the territorialisation of this kind of breeding? Are male chicks merely considered waste? To address these questions, our interdisciplinary team investigated the Walloon agricultural sector between June 2021 and February 2022, aiming to identify alternatives to the killing of "unproductive" young males. First, we carried out a comprehensive study of the laying-poultry sector, focusing on each step of the production chain. Second, we identified preventive and replacement solutions to the killing of male chicks. Analyses of those solutions were performed inside our group and with relevant stakeholders and it revealed some practical drawbacks that contrasted the potential ethical choice.