This open-access article explores a critical ethical and practical dilemma in poultry production: how to balance improved chicken welfare with potential public health risks (such as Campylobacter, avian influenza, and environmental dioxin exposure). Through surveys of both citizens and poultry farmers, the authors examine how different stakeholder groups judge three real-world case scenarios, and how their moral convictions (e.g. about naturalness, intrinsic animal value, fairness) influence their choices. The findings emphasize that societal support for welfare-friendly poultry systems depends not only on scientific risk assessments but also on how systems align with moral values and stakeholder perspectives.