Newly hatched roosters will no longer be killed at birth under plans agreed between poultry farmers and the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals.

Agriculture minister Femke Wiersma told parliament a deal had been agreed to end the practice of slaughtering one-day-old male chickens on egg farms because they are unproductive.

Between six and seven million roosters are gassed or shredded every year after they emerge from the egg. In future poultry farmers will make better use of scanning and AI technology to sex the chickens while they are incubating.

From next year farmers will be able to remove eggs containing male embryos from the batch in the first 12 days after they have been laid.

“That means it will not be necessary for roosters to be born and killed immediately afterwards,” said Wiersma. “That is better for animal welfare and leads to a more optimal breeding process.”

The so-called ZED procedure (Zonder Eendagshaantjes Doden) will lead to a marginal increase in cost of 1.15 cents per egg, scientists at Wageningen University and Research have calculated.

Farmers can also opt to raise the roosters and slaughter them for their meat instead.