Commercial turkey breeds have been selected for rapid, extreme muscle growth that causes severe welfare problems, and breed reform is essential for meaningful turkey welfare improvement.
Turkey welfare represents perhaps the most extreme case of genetic selection for production traits at the expense of basic functional health. Commercial broad-breasted white turkeys have been bred to such extreme muscle mass that many cannot walk, mate, or live without chronic musculoskeletal pain. The birds are essentially genetically disabled in the service of maximum breast yield. Every individual commercial turkey carries the welfare burden of this selection throughout its brief life. Unlike some farm animal welfare issues where management improvements can address the problem, turkey welfare fundamentally requires breed change - reverting to slower-growing genetics that maintain normal biological function.