Commercial turkey production involves extreme stocking densities and genetic selection that compromise welfare. Heat stress during summer and slaughter practices are additional welfare concerns.
Turkey welfare mirrors broiler chicken welfare in many dimensions — extreme growth genetics, overcrowding, and poor environmental conditions — but with some turkey-specific concerns. Turkeys are particularly susceptible to heat stress, and summer mortality from heat in inadequately ventilated sheds is significant. Their large size makes slaughter handling more challenging: shackling by the legs and inversion causes significant pain and distress in birds too large and heavy for this process. Transport mortality reflects both the welfare compromise of stressful transport and inadequate fitness of fast-grown birds. Controlled atmosphere killing, increasingly adopted by progressive processors, reduces pre-slaughter distress compared to live shackling. Slower-growing breeds, lower stocking densities, and improved ventilation represent the core welfare improvements needed in commercial turkey production.