Turkey is a marginal performer (“D”) under the VACI. The country has a high reliance on farmed animal production, average animal product consumption, and limited legislative protection for farmed animals.
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Turkey’s livestock sector, excluding fishing, accounts for 34% of agricultural production. The country slaughters around 15.4 land-based animals per person per year, compared to a global average of 10.1. The country’s dependence on farmed animals is significantly higher than average – around 5.1 farmed animals per person, versus a global average of 4.1. Factory farming is prevalent with chickens and other farmed birds.
Turkey is a net importer of animal products and live cattle. The diet contains a moderate proportion of animal products, with around 34.4% of the average person’s diet made up of land-based animal protein, compared with a global average of 35.2%. Each person consumes around 34.4g of land-based animal protein per day, versus a global average of 27.2g.
Turkey is rated as a marginal performer (“D”) under the Animal Protection Index (API), and its farmed animal protection legislation achieved a poor performance rating (“E”) under the same index. Detailed animal protection regulations are in place for the transport of live animals and secondary legislation is being introduced to align Turkey’s animal protection framework with EU standards. However, there is limited protection for farmed animals. For example, there is little mention of animal welfare and protection in the regulatory acts regarding the rearing of chickens and calves. Learn more about the quality of Turkey’s legislative protections on the API here.