All companies in the Netherlands that hatch chickens for meat are guilty of animal abuse, according to a not-yet-published ruling from the Ministry of Agriculture that the Volkskrant has in its possession. After hatching, nearly 500 million chicks per year run the risk of being left without food and water for an unnecessarily long time. The hatcheries have five years to rectify this, according to the newspaper. This decision follows a lengthy court procedure filed by animal welfare organization Wakker Dier in 2013.