Their weight is multiplied by 60 in a month and a half: Denmark wants to ban "turbo chickens", genetically selected to gain weight ultra quickly

The Danish Minister of Agriculture indicated on Wednesday that he wanted to introduce a ban on the breeding of "turbo chicken", these species genetically selected to have ultra-rapid growth, on a national and, ultimately, European scale. "I would like to work towards a national ban, but clearly this is something that needs to be looked at both legally and, of course, economically, before we can take action," Christian Rabjerg Madsen told TV2 television. “We are also working towards a ban at EU level,” he added.

There is currently no legal ban in Denmark, but in Norway, the poultry industry, pushed by distributors, has committed to abandoning "turbo chicken" breeds by the end of 2027. "Their growth is four times faster than in 1950, which causes limb malformations, heart and respiratory diseases, or even disproportionate muscular development," details the animal rights association L214, which campaigns against this strain of chickens. “They go from 50 g to 3 kg, a weight multiplied by 60, in a month and a half,” we can read on his site.

“We have general problems with animal welfare” On Tuesday, Danish channel TV2 broadcast hidden camera footage at one of Denmark's largest chicken producers, showing that the hens only had three hours of darkness per day, while regulations require a minimum of six hours. With three hours of darkness per day, stressed birds eat more and thus reach a higher slaughter weight. “The images we see do not reflect the level of animal welfare that I want to see,” the minister stressed.

“And when we see that one in three inspection visits results in sanctions, it also shows that we have general problems with animal welfare,” he added. Animal welfare was one of the main themes of March's parliamentary elections in Denmark, a country known for its intensive pork production. In 2025, a report from the Food Safety and Veterinary Agency estimated in its majority "that there is a gain in animal welfare from using slower growing broilers".

Last week, Denmark also announced it would end mink farming, having long been the world's leading exporter of mink skins for the luxury market. “An economic activity must not continue just because it has existed for a long time. It must also make sense for society, for the economy and for animals,” Minister of Agriculture Christian Rabjerg Madsen emphasized at the time.

Machine-translated from French