Commercial turkey welfare is severely compromised by breeding for extreme breast muscle development, causing mobility problems, cardiovascular disease and chronic pain in affected birds.
Commercial turkey welfare represents one of the clearest examples of how breeding selection for production traits without welfare consideration creates systematic suffering. The extreme breast muscle development that makes commercial turkeys commercially valuable simultaneously makes them chronically impaired — birds struggle to walk, cannot reproduce naturally, and are predisposed to cardiovascular collapse. These are not incidental problems but consequences built into the genetics of every commercial turkey produced. Heritage breed alternatives show that turkeys can be commercially raised with dramatically better welfare outcomes. Consumer demand for extreme breast meat proportions in cheap turkey products drives continued use of welfare-compromising genetics.