The British turkey industry has expanded rapidly over the past 20 - 30 years. Although the industry is now geared towards all year round production, the seasonal exphasis at Christmas still remains. About 35 million turkeys are slaughtered annually in this country, about 10 million of these for the festive season. Breeder flocks are kept to produce turkey chicks for rearing. The selective breeding of turkeys for increased meat yield has resulted in welfare problems in parent birds.
Male turkeys are now too large and broad breasted to mate naturally.
Artificial insemination is the norm. Male breeding turkeys must now undergo the repeated stress of being 'milked' for semen collection, whilst females endure the crude process of catching and insemination by tube or syringe. This condition results from the birds' heavyweight bodies bearing down on their joints, due to overzealous selective breeding. The majority of turkey chicks in the UK are reared in windowless buildings with up to 25,000 birds crammed into each shed. Temperature, ventilation and lighting are all controlled artificially.