In numerical terms, between 20 the global cattle population might grow from 1.5 billion in 2000 to 2.6 billion ( 2). Globally, cattle meat production has more than doubled since 1961, increasing from 28 million tonnes per year to 68 million tonnes in 2014 ( 1). In the same year, the EU produced 10.64 million tonnes of beef meat ( 1). The identified topics represent a basic source of information that can be used for further and more detailed analyses (e.g., systematic reviews) focussed on specific research themes or geographical areas.īeef cattle (including buffaloes) are the third most numerous farmed animals worldwide (after poultry and pigs), with 71.61 million tonnes produced globally in 2018. Research is also increasingly assessing aspects of beef cattle welfare that are interlinked to meat quality, the social and environmental sustainability of the sector in relation to market opportunities, and public health.
Pain relief during the castration of calves and bulls also featured prominently. The results indicate a particular focus on the welfare of calves, especially in the veal industry. Topics showing the most marked increase in the number of papers published deal with stakeholders' perceptions and market opportunities for added-value beef products and risk factors for morbidity and mortality, especially in relation to calf health, antimicrobial use, and antimicrobial resistance. Our analysis showed that the three most relevant themes in research since 1990 have to do with calf behaviour and management, efficiency, and environmental sustainability, and the effects of transport and slaughter on meat quality. Our aim was to reveal the main research topics and their evolution over time. This article uses text mining (TM) and topic analysis (TA) to explore the scientific literature on beef cattle welfare published in English from 1990 to 2019. Factors such as geographical region, animal category, breed, and rearing system pose specific animal welfare challenges that can have an impact on animal and public health.
2Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health (MAPS), University of Padua, Padua, Italyīeef cattle are the third most numerous terrestrial farmed animals worldwide.1Eurogroup for Animals, Brussels, Belgium.Elena Nalon 1, Barbara Contiero 2, Flaviana Gottardo 2 * and Giulio Cozzi 2
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