Intensive commercial turkey production is associated with serious health and behavioural welfare problems rooted in selective breeding for growth.
Commercial turkey welfare is one of the most severe and least-addressed welfare issues in the food system. Unlike broilers, where significant reform pressure has emerged, turkeys attract little public or policy attention. The combination of extreme breeding, high stocking density and behavioural deprivation creates chronic suffering for tens of millions of birds. Reform requires both breed change and housing improvement.