How Old Is Your Turkey in Human Years?

Avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) — a respiratory pathogen that resurged dramatically in US poultry in 2023-2024 — continued to affect commercial turkey flocks across multiple states in 2025. aMPV causes significant respiratory disease, egg production drops, and in severe cases mortality, particularly in turkey populations. More than 6 million birds were vaccinated against aMPV following the rollout of the first experimental autogenous vaccine in the US in late 2024.

September 2025 saw a new wave of avian influenza outbreaks, with 10 of 12 detected outbreaks occurring specifically in turkey flocks across North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. Commercial turkey producers continue to face significant disease pressure, with biosecurity protocols being reinforced across the industry.

The wild turkey was nearly hunted to extinction in North America by the early 20th century, with populations reduced to fewer than 30,000 birds across fragmented habitats. Through sustained conservation efforts — habitat protection, hunting regulations, and trap-and-transfer reintroduction programmes — wild turkey populations have recovered to an estimated 7 million birds across 49 states and much of Canada and Mexico.

The wild turkey recovery is considered one of the most successful wildlife conservation programmes in North American history, alongside the bald eagle and American alligator recoveries. Wild turkeys now occupy much of their historical range and have even expanded into areas where they were historically absent. The National Wild Turkey Federation has been instrumental in this recovery, funding habitat restoration and conservation research since 1973.