Billions of male chicks are killed each year immediately after they hatch, purely because they cannot lay eggs and are considered less valuable than female chicks. Some countries are seeking to end this awful practice, starting with a ban in Germany in 2022. Austria and France have since followed suit. But in the UK, US and Australia (among others), this mass culling is still standard practice. The main egg industry bodies in these countries (British Egg Industry Council, United Egg Producers in the US and Egg Farmers of Australia) have all expressed interest in bringing in screening methods to prevent this practice, but are waiting for government funding to implement existing technologies, or for more commercially viable options to come around. This is a call out to these governments - BILLIONS of little lives are being lost unnecessarily while you ponder funding these technologies.