Turkeys are among the most intensively farmed and least welfare-protected animals in agriculture. Modern commercial turkeys have been bred to grow so fast they cannot reproduce naturally and suffer chronic health problems.
Turkey welfare mirrors broiler chicken welfare in its fundamental problems but has received far less advocacy attention. The same dynamic of extreme growth selection creating health problems affects turkeys even more severely: turkeys incapable of natural reproduction represent an extreme endpoint of production-focused breeding that completely overrides natural function. The welfare case for slower-growing turkey breeds parallels the Better Chicken Commitment but no equivalent commitment exists for turkeys.