"320 million male chicks gassed on their first day of life"
The animal rights organisation Bite Back staged a protest to highlight animal suffering in the egg industry this morning. At a time when egg consumption soars Bite Back took to the streets of Hasselt, Antwerp and Ghent.
Benjamin Loison told VRT: "It’s important people are made aware of what is going on. 26 million male chicks are gassed on the first day after their birth in Belgium alone. In Europe as a whole we're talking about 320 million male chicks”.
In Hasselt a score of protesters formed a pyramid of photos. Bite Back is eager for us all to stop eating eggs because of the suffering involved in the egg production industry. Male chicks are systematically gassed on their first day. The male chicks born of laying hens cannot be used for egg or meat production.
Benjamin Loison: “The romantic image people have of Easter chicks does not correspond with reality. Endearment soon switches to horror when people realise millions of newly born chicks are gassed."
Passers-by in Hasselt were able to experience the life of a chicken from day one until their death using the virtual reality application iAnimal.
"We hope people will take an initiative themselves, because with every bite and meal they can make a difference. We realise that everybody in Hasselt won't turn vegan all at once. People can do something about their own ecological footprint and food is an important part of that."