Beak treatment of laying hens is prohibited in Sweden, Norway and Finland but is strictly regulated in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The treatment is regulated in European Union (EU) and its member states may allow beak trimming which is performed by qualified staff on ten-day-old chicks or younger. In Canada, Code of practice recommends beak trimming in chickens should be avoided unless it is necessary to prevent body damage in untrimmed birds.