Commercial turkeys face severe welfare problems from selective breeding for rapid growth, with heart problems, leg weakness, and inability to mate naturally creating systemic welfare challenges.
Commercial turkey welfare shares the same fundamental problem as broiler chicken welfare: selective breeding for production traits has created animals whose physiology is in chronic conflict with their own wellbeing. The cardiovascular problems, mobility difficulties, and reproductive incapacity of commercial turkey breeds are not accidents — they are the direct consequence of breeding for maximum body size at minimum cost. Like broiler chickens, the welfare solution requires reformed breeding goals, slower growth rates, and production systems that allow expression of natural behaviours. Consumer demand for welfare-certified turkey products from slower-growing breeds provides the market signal needed to drive this transition. The seasonal concentration of turkey consumption around holidays creates specific opportunities for consumer education campaigns.