Modern commercial turkey breeds are selected for extreme breast muscle development that causes welfare harms comparable to those seen in fast-growing broiler chickens.
Commercial turkey genetics represent welfare harm bred into the animal at the most fundamental level. The inability to mate naturally — an enormous behavioral deprivation for animals with social and reproductive drives — is an inevitable consequence of extreme muscle selection. Lameness causes chronic pain that birds experience throughout their lives. The entire production system is built around animals who cannot function without intensive human intervention at every stage. Consumer preference for inexpensive, large-breasted turkey has created this situation through market selection, and consumer willingness to pay for heritage breeds and lower muscle-mass commercial alternatives can begin to reverse it.