Cattle trade between and within biomes in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Abstract

The analysis of animal movement patterns may help identify farm premises with a potentially high risk of infectious disease introduction. Farm herd sizes and bovine movement data from 2007 in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, were analyzed. There are three different biomes in Mato Grosso: the Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal. The analysis of the animal trade between and within biomes would enable characterization of the connections between the biomes and the intensity of the internal trade within each biome. We conducted the following analyses: 1) the concentration of cattle on farm premises in the state and in each biome, 2) the number and relative frequency of cattle moved between biomes, and 3) the most frequent purposes for cattle movements. Twenty percent (20%) of the farm premises had 81.15% of the herd population. Those premises may be important not only for the spread of infectious diseases, but also for the implementation of surveillance and control strategies. Most of the cattle movement was intrastate (97.1%), and internal movements within each biome were predominant (88.6%). A high percentage of movement from the Pantanal was to the Cerrado (48.6%), the biome that received the most cattle for slaughter, fattening and reproduction (62.4%, 56.8%, and 49.1% of all movements for slaughter, fattening, and reproduction, respectively). The primary purposes for cattle trade were fattening (43.5%), slaughter (31.5%), and reproduction (22.7%). Presumably, movements for slaughter has a low risk of disease spread. In contrast, movements for fattening and reproduction purposes (66.2% of all movements) may contribute to an increased risk of the spread of infectious diseases.

Analysis of the cattle trade network in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

“…Previous studies of the cattle movement network in Mato Grosso in 2007 have shown that a community detection algorithm applied to the network achieved a network partition showing a clear geographical and commercial pattern (Grisi-Filho et al, 2013). Most of the cattle movement was intrastate and internal movements within each biome were predominant (Negreiros et al, 2018). These findings reflect the distribution of geodesic spatial distances analyzed in the present study.…”

“…Despite the importance of the network of animal movements for the spread of infectious diseases, only a few studies (Amaku et al, 2015;Cipullo et al, 2016;Grisi-Filho et al, 2013;Negreiros et al, 2018;Silva et al, 2017) were performed to characterize the network of animal movements in Brazilian states, using methods of social network analysis (SNA). As far as we know, the network of the state of Mato Grosso in 2007 was the first Brazilian cattle movement network analyzed using SNA methods (Negreiros, 2010).…”

“…Previous studies of the cattle movement network in the state of Mato Grosso in 2007 have analyzed the spatial distribution of livestock production zones within the state (Grisi-Filho et al, 2013), the cattle trade between and within biomes (Negreiros et al, 2018), and the association between the cattle movement network, herd size, and bovine brucellosis in the state (Cipullo et al, 2016). We have chosen to analyze the same network so that the findings obtained in the present study may help understand the results found in the previous studies and vice-versa.…”

Characterization of the cattle movement network in the state of Goiás, Brazil

“…These are noteworthy areas in the beef cattle sector, since most of the animals are transported for the purposes of finishing, post-weaning, or slaughter. The greatest flow of cattle movements was within the state, a scenario like that identified in the transport of cattle in the state of Mato Grosso (Silva-Júnior et al, 2017;Negreiros et al, 2018). The occurrence of internal transport suggests a short-or medium-distance movement pattern, where the spatial proximity between farms or establishments that form the cattle trade network constitutes an essential factor for the movement of these animals (Negreiros et al, 2018).…”