The footage was taken by Animal Welfare Foundation in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil between August 2025 and March 2026 on feedlots approved for the EU-market. These countries represent three of the EU’s top providers of bovine meat, with imports expected to rise significantly as tariffs under the agreement have been reduced.
Feedlots are intensive cattle fattening systems where thousands of animals are confined in outdoor pens and fed high-energy, unnatural diets, mostly grain and soy, meant to accelerate weight gain before slaughter. As evident in the video footage, these systems cause significant suffering: restricting cattles’ natural behaviour and exposing animals to heat stress, muddy and dusty conditions, disease and injuries.
Cattle are seen panting for air, exposed in open air pens with insufficient shade, with no clean drinking water provided. During the winter months, animals were witnessed standing and lying in mud and accumulated excrement and contaminated water, increasing the risk of diseases, and limiting movement. Most of the animals are severely overweight, and the footage also exposes cases of severely emaciated, lame, injured, sick, and even dead animals within the large herds.
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