Commercial turkey production involves welfare challenges from extreme selective breeding for breast meat, with modern breeds struggling to walk, breed naturally, or survive to maturity.
Turkey welfare problems are analogous to but in some ways more extreme than those of broiler chickens. The extreme breast muscle development that maximises meat yield compromises the birds' ability to walk, balance, and engage in natural behaviour. Artificial insemination is required because natural mating is physically impossible, raising additional welfare questions about the procedure. Heritage breed turkeys with more natural proportions show dramatically better welfare outcomes. Consumer demand for cheaper, larger turkeys has driven the genetic extremism that underlies current welfare problems.