Commercially farmed turkeys face significant welfare challenges including genetic selection for extreme breast muscle growth, mobility problems and behavioral restriction.
The welfare situation of commercial turkeys parallels and in some ways exceeds the problems seen in broiler chickens. Extreme genetic selection for maximum breast muscle growth has compromised these birds physically, behaviorally and reproductively. Turkey welfare reform lags behind chicken welfare reform despite similar or greater severity of problems. Consumer demand concentrated around holidays creates incentives against welfare improvement.