EU-citizens wants stronger animal welfare legislation

Between September and December 2025, anyone who wanted to could share their views on the EU’s planned update of its animal welfare legislation. The Commission has now released a summary of the results, which shows overwhelming support for stronger protection for animals kept in factory farms. 

One of the most striking findings concerns the systematic mass killing of male chicks. Nearly 98 percent of all respondents regard this practice as ethically problematic, a position shared by a majority of responding companies, businesses and associations. Almost 97 percent also stated that the implementation of alternative methods, for example in-ovo sexing (sex sorting of eggs), is urgent. Countries such as Germany and France have already banned the mass killing of male chicks, and solutions to this problem already exists and are being used in several countries.  

In the EU egg industry, around 330 million male chicks are killed every year simply because they are considered unprofitable. This starkly illustrates how little value is placed on animal life in today’s factory farming systems. That is why EU citizens’ demands for a clear end date are so important – they signal that this view of animals is no longer acceptable. The European Union must now follow the lead of countries that have already taken action, by adopting EU-wide legislation that finally ends the killing of male chicks across all member states. 

- Benny Andersson, CEO of Project 1882 

The issue of keeping animals in cages also delivered a striking find. For hens, pullets, pigs, calves, rabbits, ducks, geese and breeding animals, almost 99 percent of all respondents considered the phasing out of cages to be important. This shows a broad and unanimous support for the transition already requested by the European Commission through the citizens’ initiative “End the Cage Age”.