Animal Breeding And Health
Our animals are not genetically modified, cloned, and they do not receive hormones at any stage of our raising system.
Medicines and vaccines are handled only under the indication of our veterinarians, through the on-site visit to evaluate the clinical condition of the flock in production, in line with the guidelines defined internally by the company and its specialists, and based on legislation and customer standards.
The contract between BRF and the farmers producers determines that all intervention in the flock in production must be carried out only by the company, including any treatment, even if it is not drug. The company also has a network of laboratories that assist in identifying the causes of problems with flock, as well as speeding up decision making through quick results.
BRF does not use antibiotics as growth promoters in poultry and pork production and seeks continuous improvement of processes, enabling the gradual reduction of drug use throughout the chain. We firmly believe in the concept of responsible use of antibiotics and, to this end, we have taken biosecurity and animal welfare measures that help us keep the use of antibiotics restricted to what is necessary.
Since the beginning of 2019, 100% of the production of animals in BRF's agricultural chain is free of growth-promoting antibiotics (AGP-Free). When antibiotics are needed, the drug is prescribed by a veterinarian. The waiting period of each active ingredient is strictly followed. BRF professionals guide the use of the products to the company's integrated partners.
The company has an internal policy on the use of antibiotics in the poultry chain developed by veterinarians specialized in animal health in the area of agriculture. In this document, general guidelines on the use of antibiotics and how the company handles this matter are described
Antibiotics should never be used to promote weight gain or growth in animals, or to increase the efficiency of animal feed.
In addition, BRF has reduced the use of antibiotics considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as critical to human health.
Regarding the use of antibiotics and medicines in general, BRF acts in accordance with the scientific evidence of antimicrobial resistance in the human population and with the view of the World Health Organization (WHO), which classifies antimicrobials into three categories: critically important, highly important and important.
The team of veterinarians evaluates and ensures biosecurity, animal welfare, prophylaxis, disease prevention and maintenance of animal health, and constantly values alternatives to medicines such as vaccines, prebiotics and probiotics, among others. In addition, no hormones are used for the purpose of promoting growth in the integration of poultry and pigs.
The technical teams work, together with the integrated producers, with a focus on preventing diseases and adopting the use of antimicrobials when necessary. In these cases, veterinarians evaluate the animals and the presence of lesions through necropsy and all antimicrobials are prescribed only by these professionals and recorded in the Follow-up Form. All products are sourced and supplied by BRF, and integrated producers are prohibited from using or purchasing any product on their own. The antimicrobial must comply with the regulatory requirements of local laws and can only be used in accordance with the product's license in the country where it will be administered. Another requirement is that it must be considered effective through historical analysis of the sensitivity test.
In the Sadia Bio product line, no type of medication is used during the life of the batch, this practice is certified by a third party.
Reducing physical changes in animals is one of the main points of work within the animal welfare program at BRF. Our suppliers should avoid routine mutilations such as tooth cutting, tail cutting, castration, beak cutting, dehorning whenever possible. The use of surgical interventions should be performed only to prevent suffering, pain, illness or injury.
| PERCENTAGE OF ANIMALS IN GLOBAL OPERATIONS THAT ARE FREE OF MUTILATION | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Species/raising | Types of physical changes performed on this species | Raising practices of these animals and if anesthetics are used during physical changes | |
| Broiler Chicken | No physical changes are made to the birds | ||
| Broiler Breeder Stock | Debeaking | 67% of broiler breeders are beak trimmed in the hatchery using laser equipment. One-third of the beak is cut in an area where there are fewer nerve receptors. | |
| Cutting turkeys | Debeaking | The cutting turkeys are 100% beaked in the hatchery by means of laser equipment. 1/3 of the beak is cut in a region where there are fewer nerve receptors | |
| Swine | Tail docking | 100% of the animals raised in the BRF i globally undergo tail docking, up to the third day of life, to avoid the risk of cannibalism during the growth and weight gain phases. This practice is in accordance with Directive 120/2008 (on minimum standards for the protection of pigs) and IN 113/20 (Brazil regulament) | |
| Swine | Castration | 99.7% of the animals raised in the BRF integration globally undergo immunocastration. Surgical castration is performed in about 0.3% of pigs and exclusively in animals dedicated to the production of Parma ham, in which the use of anesthesia was implemented in 2022. | |
As an alternative to the use of antibiotics, vaccines, prebiotics and probiotics are used in feed, in addition to biosecurity protocols. All of these improvements wouldn't be possible if we didn't follow animal welfare guidelines. Welfare animals experience fewer periods of stress, which helps keep the immune system strengthened to fight off pathogens.
With the aim of advancing animal welfare efforts, we have a portion of our production implementing continuous environmental enrichment practices.
We develop protocols and use different objects to identify mechanisms that stimulate the natural behavior of our animals, contributing to the reduction of stress and the improvement of health conditions, through:
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For the poultry chain, the use of perches and other pecking instruments are present in several raising farms, turkeys and broilers.
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For the pig chain, the use of chains, ropes, straws, wood and gallons has been gradually implemented in the raising environments/
| PERCENTAGE OF ANIMALS IN GLOBAL OPERATIONS THAT HAVE ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Percentage | Country | Additional notes |
| Broiler Chicken | 17.1% |
Brazil: 17% Turkey: 50% |
Chicken production in Turkey and Brazil, 100% in conjunction with integrated partners. |
| Swine | 21% | Brazil: 21% | Production allocated in Brazil by integrated partners. |
| Turkey | 100% | Brazil: 100% | Production of turkeys in Brazil, with 100% production together with integrated partners. |
| Cattle | 42.6% | - | We do not raise or slaughter these animals that produce non-fertile eggs. The raw material is purchased from third-party suppliers. |
| Eggs | 96% |
Brazil: 100% Turkey: 0% |
We do not raise or slaughter these animals that produce non-fertile eggs. The raw material is purchased from third-party suppliers. |
| Dairy | Not Mapped | - | We do not raise or slaughter animals that produce milk. Dairy products are purchased from companies that deliver the product ready for use |