Modern broiler chickens have been selectively bred for extreme growth rates. The welfare consequences of this selection — skeletal disease, heart failure, and impaired mobility — are among the most significant in livestock farming.
The broiler growth rate welfare crisis affects tens of billions of birds annually and represents one of the largest sources of avoidable animal suffering in the world. The extreme growth rates achieved through selective breeding outpace the capacity of the cardiovascular and skeletal systems to support them, creating a body that is physiologically unsustainable. Broilers that die from ascites are not failures — they are the predictable result of selection that prioritised growth rate over health. The solution is breed reform: adopting slower-growing breeds that have adequate time for skeletal and cardiac development. This is the most impactful single change available to the broiler industry, requiring market pressure through retailer commitments and consumer choice.