At the same time, several startups around the world are working to further develop the scanning technology that might save six billion lives a year. Here in the Netherlands, for example, InOvo is a Leiden University spin-off company that is developing the prototype of a sorting device that could determine the chicks’ gender halfway through incubation.

Even more ambitiously, Israeli startup EggXYt is developing an ultrasound technology that enables sex detection of chick embryos immediately after the eggs are laid and before they enter the incubation process.



It then seems that different parts are tackling the problem. And hopefully, the conjoined efforts of governments, charitable organizations, and tech startups will end this gruesome practice in the coming years.

But we need to speed up the process. If you want to know how you can contribute, check out (and maybe donate to) The Human League, an animal protection nonprofit organization that has been listed as a top charity by Animal Charity Evaluator since 2012.