Legal Aspects of the Prohibition on Chick Shredding in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia

Abstract

This comment considers legal aspects of the Internal Directive of the Ministry of Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection of 26 September 2013 of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia, which banned the practice of male chick shredding and other methods of killing.2 In the light of European and German legislation this could either be viewed as progress in animal welfare law and hereby serve as a model for other regions, or constitute an unlawful act beyond the leeway of implementation exceeding the Ministry’s competence.