Switzerland Today
How do you like your eggs in the morning? Fried, scrambled or poached? A high protein meal is a great way to start the day for some but behind the yolky goodness lies an uncomfortable truth in the egg industry.
Millions of male chicks are culled in Switzerland because they are surplus to requirement. Fortunately, this is about to change.
In the news: Eurovision host, invasive plants, party finances, youth unemployment and dance therapy.
The city of Basel will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.External link It beat rival Geneva to win the rights to host the event. The contest will be held in the St. Jakobshalle with a temporary arena planned in the neighbouring St. Jakob Park. The Basel city government expects the cost to be about CHF34.9 million. The two semi-finals will take place on May 13 and 15, and the final on May 17, 2025. The countdown can finally begin.
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman campExternal link in canton Graubünden. The site, at an altitude of 2,200 metres, was protected by three ditches and an embankment. Its strategic position enabled it to control the surrounding valleys and passes.
A sales ban for some alien and invasive plant speciesExternal link comes into force from September. Among the species on the blacklist include the butterfly bush and the cherry laurel.
The first-ever report by the Federal Audit Office on party finances has thrown up a surprise. The Social Democrats raised the most money External linkamong all political parties at CHF9 million. But there is more to it than meets the eye.
Unemployment among Swiss university graduates has increased over the last three years. Between 2021 and 2023, the unemployment rate rose from 2.7% to 3.2% External linkwith some disciplines affected more than others.
Zurich doctors can now issue ‘social prescriptions’ for therapeutic activities ranging from gardening and dancing to debt counsellingExternal link. Zurich City’s parliament has approved the trial, which will cost CHF2.5 million. Four outpatient medical centres can refer patients to so-called ‘Link workers’ who will arrange the activities.
Surplus to requirement: Culling of male chicks
We Swiss pride ourselves on our high standards of farm animal welfare compared to the rest of Europe. But did you know that male chicks used to be shredded to pieces in Switzerland as recently as five years ago?
The poultry industry has no need for so many male chicks as only a few males are required for breeding purposes. Shredding them was a normal practice until January 1, 2020 after the Animal Welfare Law was amended to put an end to the practice.
While the fluffy chicks are no longer shredded, they are still killed on the first day of their lives. About three million male baby chickens are gassed in Switzerland every year because it is not worth rearing them for commercial reasons. The flesh is transformed into animal feed or used in biogas plants to produce energy.
But from 2025, mass culling of male chicks may come to an endExternal link. The Swiss association of egg producers, GalloSuisse, has decided to roll out sex determination at the egg stage itself (ovo sex determination) that will detect and terminate eggs with male embryos before they hatch.
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