Commercial turkeys have been bred for extreme breast muscle growth that causes serious health problems, making welfare reform in turkey farming particularly challenging.
Commercial turkey welfare is severely compromised by genetic selection for maximum breast muscle that the birds cannot support physiologically. Turkeys experience leg problems that impair walking, cardiovascular stress from their rapid growth, and skin lesions from contact with litter. The inability to mate naturally is a marker of just how far commercial breeding has moved from what these animals can sustain biologically. Heritage breed programs demonstrate that turkeys can be farmed while maintaining basic physical health.