Commercial turkeys are among the most genetically extreme farm animals, bred for such rapid breast meat growth they cannot naturally reproduce.
The genetic modification of turkeys for maximum breast meat production has created animals whose bodies are fundamentally unsuited to their own physiology. They cannot mate, cannot sustain their own weight comfortably, and often develop chronic leg pain. The extreme selection for rapid growth causes the same cardiac and respiratory problems as seen in broiler chickens. Their welfare problems are built into their genetics by the industry.