Impacto e valorização econômica do bem-estar animal no processo de produção de frangos de corte

Abstract

The welfare of broiler chickens has been widely studied and discussed from the perspective of the animal, perception and impact on consumers and economic indicators for the industry. However, there is little record of the economic impact related to whether or not animal welfare is met on the producer's remuneration in an integrated production chain, making it important to analyze the performance indicators that are related to welfare, directly or indirectly. , and evaluate its impact on the integrated employee’s remuneration. Therefore, the present work was conducted with the objective of evaluating the impact of applying animal welfare assumptions on producer performance and remuneration in the broiler chicken integration system. The research was structured into three chapters, with Chapter I being a systematic review, based on the mapping and quantification of research published in the last 40 years on welfare in poultry farming and its impact on production, slaughter and economic return on integrated remuneration. After the search, systematic evaluation and discussion based on seven selected studies, a research gap became evident. Chapter II addresses the relationship between the application of animal welfare assumptions and performance indicators and remuneration of broiler flocks, evaluated through mixed data factor analysis, considered a main component method dedicated to analyzing a set of data containing quantitative and qualitative variables (FAMD). Although animal welfare was not well represented in the proposed analysis model due to the low frequency of application of the checklist that generated its score, it was possible to relate the analyzed variables, indicating that factor analysis of mixed data can be used as a tool of decision making. In turn, Chapter III addresses, through principal component analysis (PCA), the influence of the application of animal welfare in the pre-slaughter phases and carcass condemnations on the remuneration of broiler chicken producers. Evidencing that animal welfare had a good contribution to explaining the variability of the data, being represented in the second dimension. The analysis showed positive and negative correlations between animal welfare variables, carcass condemnations, performance and producer remuneration. Making it possible to conclude that the animal welfare assumptions applied in the pre-slaughter phases have an impact on carcass condemnations and zootechnical performance indicators of broiler chickens, consequently having a positive impact on the producer's remuneration. To carry out the research listed in chapters 2 and 3, data collected in the internal system of one of the branches of a company with an integration system, registered with the Federal Inspection Service (SIF), located in Grande Dourados, and slaughter lots of broiler chickens between 2020 and 2022. It was possible to observe that the measurement of welfare through a checklist must minimally monitor the frequency of each batch, in order to actually have accurate data that can be evaluated and considered for decision-making.