Hy-Line International or Hy-Line is an multi-national genetics company that raises and sells commercial/industrial laying chickens. It is a subsidiary of the German EW Group. The firm has subsidiaries in multiple countries including

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Japan, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and has 60 distributors in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Corporate

The firm is a subsidiary of the privately owned German livestock breeding company EW Group. Its president is Jonathan Cade; Thomas Dixon serves as the firm's director of international sales and marketing

Operations

Hy-Line directly operates subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia Brazil, and South Africa. Many of its subsidiaries were formerly distributors bought out by Hy-Line, including Hy-Line Italia (formerly Valversa) and Hy-Line South Africa (formerly Hy-Line Chicks). In several countries it has instead signed exclusivity deals with distributors. In India, Amrit Group has distributed Hy-Line chickens since July 2014 when a new 'poultry hub' was established as part of plans to capture 30% of the Indian egg-laying market by 2017–2018. Sales in Vietnam are exclusively licensed to the Ba Haun Company since 2013.

Products

Products of the company include the Hy-Line W-36, Brown, and Silver Brown lines.Product Information
Hyline 2014. (self-published source). Accessed August 2014.

Criticism

Hy-Line International has been subject to criticism from animal rights group

Mercy for Animals Mercy For Animals (MFA) is an international nonprofit animal protection organization founded in 1999 by Milo Runkle. MFA's mission is to "prevent cruelty to farmed animals and promote compassionate food choices and policies." MFA has conducted mo ...

following the release of a video alleged to have been filmed inside of a Hy-Line hatchery, showing the process of

chick culling Chick culling or unwanted chick killing is the process of separating and killing unwanted (male and unhealthy female) chicks for which the intensive animal farming industry has no use. It occurs in all industrialised egg production, whether fr ...

. The video went viral and received widespread media attention across the English-speaking world. Hy-Line Australia was sued in 2013 for unsafe practices at its chicken hatchery at Huntly near Bendigo, after a fire in one of its sheds in April 2009 left an employee trapped due to a lack of fire exits. The man escaped by breaking through floorboards. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Sponsorships

Hy-Line Australia is the name-sponsor of the Hy-Line Australia Oval, which is a home ground of the

Heathcote District Football League The Heathcote District Football League (HDFL) is an Australian rules football league based in the Heathcote, Victoria, Heathcote region and major Bendigo area with clubs based in the regions of City of Greater Bendigo, Shire of Campaspe, and Shi ...

. It also sponsors the Hy-Line International Research Award of the

Poultry Science Association The Poultry Science Association (PSA) is an American non-profit professional organization for the advancement of poultry science. Founded in 1908, the PSA is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Consisting of 1800 members, PSA is involved in re ...

References

External links

Hy-Line International
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