ANIMAL WELFARE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN BEEF CATTLE PRODUCTION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/bocav25n79-013Keywords:
Animal Welfare, Beef Cattle Farming, Physiological Stress, Livestock Sustainability, Beef QualityAbstract
The intensification of beef cattle production in recent decades has significantly increased the challenges related to environmental sustainability,animal welfare,and productive efficiency in modern livestock systems. In this context, the present study aimed to critically analyze the relationship between animal welfare, sustainability, and productivity in beef cattle farming,discussing the main stress factors present in production systems, their physiological and economic impacts, as well as the contradictions between productive intensification and the effective guarantee of animal welfare. This research is characterized as a narrative literature review with a qualitative approach, based on the analysis of scientific articles, books,dissertations, and national and international technical documents published between 2000 and 2025. The results showed that factors such as inadequate handling, prolonged transportation,overcrowding, lack of thermal comfort, and aversive human-animal interactions promote prolonged activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis,increasing cortisol levels and compromising physiological, immunological, and productive parameters in cattle.Furthermore,pre-slaughter stress directly affects meat quality,favoring metabolic alterations associated with DFD and PSE meat,resulting in significant economic losses for the production chain.In addition, although sustainable strategies such as integrated production systems, rational handling,and pasture recovery have potential to reduce environmental impacts and improve animal comfort,their imnplementation remains uneven within the Brazilian productive reality.It was also observed that part of the practices associated with sustainability remains strongly linked to market demands and commercial valorization of beef products, without necessarily promoting effective structural changes in production systems. It is concluded that animal welfare should be understood not only as an ethical or commercial requirement, but also as an essential component for sustainability, meat quality, and the future viability of contemporary beef cattle production.
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