Commercial turkeys have been selectively bred to grow so rapidly that they suffer from chronic leg pain, cardiovascular disease, and an inability to mate naturally, making them one of the most compromised farmed animals in terms of welfare.
The selective breeding of commercial turkeys for extreme rapid growth has created animals whose bodies cause them chronic pain simply through bearing their own weight. Leg disorders cause suffering throughout the brief lives of market turkeys. Cardiovascular and respiratory problems caused by the mismatch between growth rate and organ development result in painful deaths for a significant proportion of birds. Unlike some farmed animal welfare problems that can be addressed through management changes, the core welfare problems in commercial turkey production are built into the genetics of the animals themselves.