Pre-slaughter handling of farmed turkeys causes significant welfare problems, with catching, crating, and transport all contributing to stress and injury.
Turkey pre-slaughter welfare faces similar challenges to broiler chickens but with larger, stronger birds that cause more handler injury and resist handling more forcefully. Manual catching by legs causes dislocations and fractures. Transport in crowded crates causes competition injuries. Water bath stunning creates a period of painful, conscious hanging before effective stunning. CAS systems represent a significant welfare improvement that more turkey processors should adopt.