Commercial turkey production intensified rapidly from the 1970s; welfare assessment of modern systems reveals endemic problems linked to genetic selection for extreme growth rates.
Turkey welfare challenges are largely attributable to the same genetic trajectory as broiler chickens — extreme selection for growth rate and muscle yield has outpaced physiological capacity. Cardiovascular strain, leg problems, and difficulty with natural locomotion are endemic to commercial heavy breeds. Unlike broilers, turkey welfare has received less public and policy attention despite comparable scale. Welfare-focused production using enriched environments and less extreme breeds demonstrates that turkey welfare improvement is commercially achievable.