Bem-estar animal: uma revisão bibliográfica com enfoque na produção de ovinos, suínos e aves no Brasil

Abstract

Animal welfare has become an important measure for monitoring quality of life for good production development. Animals that are in an environment with minimal stress and that achieve good physiological functioning bring more satisfactory results to producers who can then be inserted into a production pattern with greater opportunities. This review study will address a brief history of scientific questions about animal welfare, highlighting the main theoretical references that underpin this science. The study of animal behavior has been a useful and widely used tool for assessing welfare, with significant methodological improvements over time. Mental states and emotions have since become a fundamental part of animal welfare assessment. More recently, the relationship between cognition and emotions has been explored in order to allow mental states to be objectively assessed. Knowledge of the functional relationships between the animal and the environment brings benefits in adopting measures that benefit both.