Animal protection bills introduced in Brazilian National Congress

In partnership with Animal Equality, Federal Deputy Luciene Cavalcante introduced two animal protection bills in the Brazilian National Congress in March 2024.

If passed, Bill (PL) 783/2024 would ban the killing of male chicks, a common practice in the egg industry due to their inability to lay eggs. This bill proposes the use of in-ovo sexing technologies, allowing the sex of embryos to be determined before incubation. Annually, this could save approximately 84 million chicks from being shredded, suffocated, or otherwise killed on their first days of life.

The second bill, 784/2024, would regulate the labeling of animal products. Food companies would be required to inform consumers about cruel practices used for production, including extreme confinement, the killing of newborn chicks and calves, and painful mutilations without anesthesia. If passed, this bill will impact over 7 billion animals raised for food.

These proposed bills align with Article 225 of the Brazilian Constitution and Article 32 of the Environmental Crimes Law, which have criminalized animal cruelty. This includes cruelty to farmed animals, such as cows, pigs, and chickens. Bill 784 also aligns with the Consumer Protection Code, which guarantees consumers’ right to be informed about the products they consume.

These bills were developed in collaboration with animal protection and research organizations such as Alianima, the Fórum Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Animal, Natureza Conecta, Mercy For Animals, World Animal Protection, Sinergia Animal, and the Welfare Footprint Project.

Animal Equality fights for male chicks

Animal Equality in Brazil has negotiated with companies and producers to secure protections for male chicks, promoting the use of in-ovo sexing technology where available. A crucial commitment made by South America’s largest egg producer–Grupo Mantiqueira–will spare around 8 million chicks annually.

Meanwhile, over 125,000 people have signed Animal Equality’s petition to end male chick killing in the U.S. egg industry.

Stop the Killing of Male Chicks

We, the undersigned, are calling on state legislators, stakeholders, and policymakers to ban the killing of newborn male chicks.

This practice is unacceptable and must be legally prohibited. We do not consider this practice to be humane, nor do we expect that egg brands touting themselves as a humane option would allow this practice in their supply chain. Yet, given the common use of humane claims in the egg marketplace, the industry’s practice of killing male chicks raises an issue of consumer deception as well.

The easiest way to resolve this cruelty and consumer deception is to ban the practice of killing male chicks.

In solidarity,

(Your signature)

{firstname}, thank you for adding your voice to protect animals!

If you want to further help to put an end to the cruel practice of male chick culling, please share this petition. Together we can change the world for animals!

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Billions of baby birds face death on the day they are born simply because their lives are not profitable. Please sign the petition to end this massacre.

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Animal Equality in the U.S. has also released its Love Veg cookbook, providing egg-free recipes for plant-based beginners. Download your free cookbook today to get started on your compassionate journey.

LIVE KINDLY

With rich emotional lives and unbreakable family bonds, farmed animals deserve to be protected.

You can build a kinder world by replacing animal food products with plant‑based ones.