Project 1882
Animals in factory farms

Turkeys

In factory farms, turkeys are often stressed and dirty, and the stables are so crowded that they cannot avoid stepping on eachother. Turkeys have been bred to grow rapidly, which leads to pain, mobility issues, and increased mortality. It doesn’t have to be this way. Project 1882 is working actively to ensure better conditions for turkeys and to reduce the killing. 

This is what Project 1882 is doing for the turkeys: 

  • Putting pressure on politicians and authorities to change the laws that affect turkeys, both in Sweden and at the EU level.
  • Influencing companies to adopt policies on reduced meat consumption and stronger animal welfare requirements than those required by law. 
  • Running the inspirational website Välj Vego (Choose Veg), which aims to make it easier for more people to choose not to eat meat from turkeys and other animals.  
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Turkeys

The three biggest issues

Breeding

Turkeys have been bred to be heavy and have large breast muscles, which cause a high risk for muscle damage, deformed legs, and sudden death syndrome. The rapid growth rate also lead to difficulties in performing natural behaviors, such as mating, resting and running.

Overcrowding

Turkeys are raised in large stables where several thousand individuals are crowded together on concrete floors with only litter, water, and feed. Turkeys kept in crowded conditions are stressed and have trouble resting. This may cause cannibalism, and they often have painful lesions and injuries on their feet.  

Slaughter

Turkeys are stunned in an electric water bath before their throats are slit, and they bleed to death. To be stunned, they are hung upside down and shackled by their legs, then their heads are lowered into an electric water bath. It is a painful and stressful procedure that risks failure, leading to more pain and stress.  

Turkeys

Issues with turkey factory farms

Every year over 170 million turkeys are killed in EU factory farms. The turkeys are often stressed and dirty, and the stables are so crowded that they cannot avoid stepping on each other. They have been bred to grow quickly, which have led to pain, difficulty walking, and increased mortality. 

Breeding  

Turkeys have been bred to grow quickly, become heavy, and develop large breast muscles. Turkey chicks weigh about 60 grams at hatching, and in 20 weeks, a turkey has grown 300 times its own weight and weighs about 18 kilograms at slaughter.1,2 This breeding has led to an increased risk of muscle damage 3 and broken bones 4, as well as increased susceptibility to disease.5  It has also led to an increased risk of deformed legs, which in turn can lead to lameness and, in the worst cases, early death. The sudden death of turkeys is also linked to the extreme breeding practices carried out in factory farms.6   

The breeding of turkeys have made male turkeys so large and heavy that they have difficulty mating naturally without hurting the female turkey.7,8 Raising turkeys in factory farms is therefore completely dependent on artificial insemination.9 Another natural behaviour for turkeys is to rest high up10, but extreme breeding for rapid growth and larger breast muscles has affected turkeys' mobility and made them front-heavy.11 This has led to difficulties in using various perches and platforms. However, turkey factory farms do not offer perches or platforms, making it impossible for turkeys to satisfy their needs.   

Overcrowding 

Turkeys are raised in large stables where several thousand individuals are crowded together on concrete floors with only litter, water, and feed. The overcrowding cause stress12 and they may start to cannibalize on each other.13 They often lie for long periods on litter that is wet with faeces and have dirtier and sparser plumage compared to turkeys that have more space14. Overcrowding increases the risk of painful sores and injuries to the feet14, which can lead to lameness and disease.15 They also find it difficult to rest undisturbed, as it is so crowded that other turkeys have no choice but to walk too close or step on those trying to rest.14   

To decrease problems with cannibalism, beak trimming, desnooding and toe trimming are used on turkeys in many EU-countries. This causes pain, behavioural restriction and stress, and the European authority EFSA therefore asks for a stop to all mutilations. EFSA also ask for a rapid decrease in stocking density, so that turkeys should be able to behave naturally and to reduce health issues.16 

Slaughter 

In 2023, over 170 million turkeys were killed in the European Union.17 At the slaughterhouse, turkeys are often stunned with electricity.2,3 Turkeys are hung upside down and secured by their legs. The birds' heads are then lowered into an electric water bath to stun them with an electric shock. There is a risk that stunning in an electric water bath will fail, which means that the turkeys may be conscious before their throats are cut and they bleed to death.18  

It is very stressful and painful for the turkeys to be hung upside down and shackled by their legs, especially for those who already have leg pain. The pain and stress often cause the birds to flap their wings while hanging upside down, which can cause injuries and fractures. There is also a risk that their long wings get electric shocks before their heads reach the electrified water.18  

  1. Ingelsta kalkon. Hemsida: https://ingelstakalkon.se/om-ingelsta-kalkon/djuromsorg/ Website visited 2026-03-02.
  2. Wallman M. (2010). Livscykelanalys (LCA) av svensk kalkonproduktion. SIK Institutet för livsmedel och bioteknik.
  3. Velleman S. m.fl. (2003) Effect of selection for growth rate on muscle damage during turkey breast muscle development. Poultry Science 82(7): 1069–1074.
  4. Crespo R. & Shivaprasad H.L. (2013) Developmental, metabolic, and other noninfectious disorders. Diseases of Poultry 13: 1242–1243.
  5. Huff G. m.fl. (2006) Stress-induced colibacillosis and turkey osteomyelitis complex in turkeys selected for increased body weight. Poultry Science 85: 266-72.
  6. Hafez H. M. & Shehata A. A. (2021) Turkey production and health: current challenges. German Journal of Veterinary Research 1(1): 3–14.
  7. Asaduzzaman M. m.fl. (2017) Problems and prospects of turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) production in Bangladesh. Research in Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries 4 (2): 77–90.
  8. Asaduzzaman M. m.fl. (2022) Efficiency of natural mating and artificial insemination in turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) breeding. Asian-Australasian Journal of Bioscience and Biotechnology 7(1): 1–12.
  9. Juliet A. L. & Bakst M. R. (2008) The current state of semen storage and AI technology. Biotechnology and Germplasm Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD, USA.
  10. Cathey J. m.fl. (2007) Rio Grande wild turkey in Texas: biology and management. Texas Farmer Collection.
  11. Stratmann A. & Ringgenberg N. (2022) Use of different elevated structures by commercial fattening turkeys in Switzerland. Journal of Applied Poultry Research 32: 100304.
  12. Abdel-rahman M. A. (2005) Study on the effect of stocking density and floor space allowance on behaviour, health and productivity of turkey broilers. Assiut Veterinary Medical Journal 51(104): 1-13.
  13. Glatz P. & Rodda B. (2013) Turkey farming: Welfare and husbandry issues. African Journal of Agricultural Research 8(48): 6149–6163.
  14. Jhetam S. m.fl. (2022) Evaluating the effects of stocking density on the behavior, health, and welfare of Turkey hens to 11 weeks of age. Poultry Science 101: 101956.
  15. Clark S. m.fl. (2002). Pododermatitis in Turkeys. Avian Diseases 46(4): 1038–1044.
  16. EFSA (2026) Welfare assessment of turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo) on farm. The EFSA Journal 24 (2).
  17. EFSA (2026) Info session: Advancing Scientific Knowledge on the Welfare of Turkeys on farm: Insights from the EFSA Scientific Opinion.
  18. EFSA (2004) Welfare aspects of the main systems of stunning and killing the main commercial species of animals. The EFSA Journal 45: 1–29.
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Project 1882 works for the animals that are the most exploited and suffer the worst. Thanks to your support, we can change the situation of turkeys in factory farms.

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