Announcements
Publication date: April 14, 2026
Submission and publication flow at CAB
To enhance transparency in its editorial process, the journal Ciência Animal Brasileira / Brazilian Animal Science (CAB) shares with the scientific community key data and information regarding its submission and publication workflow.
In 2025, the journal received 272 manuscripts. Of these, 159 were rejected at the initial evaluation stage (desk review). Since adopting the continuous publication model, CAB has maintained an average of approximately 62 articles published per year. In practice, this means that only a portion of submitted manuscripts advances to publication.
The initial screening plays a crucial role in this process. In addition to streamlining the editorial workflow, it helps optimize the time of peer reviewers, who contribute voluntarily to the journal.
As a publicly and institutionally funded journal, with no fees charged to authors and aligned with the principles of open science, CAB operates with a small team, which naturally imposes limits on its processing and publication capacity.
Why are so many manuscripts rejected at the initial screening stage?
The preliminary evaluation assesses whether the manuscript meets the journal’s basic requirements before proceeding to peer review. The main reasons for rejection at this stage include:
- Lack of alignment with the journal’s scope
- Non-compliance with formatting guidelines
- Methodological weaknesses or limitations in study design
- Case reports (see: https://revistas.ufg.br/vet/articletypes)
- Retrospective studies with a very limited scope
- Studies with low incremental contribution to existing knowledge
- Review articles outside the journal’s editorial priorities (see: https://revistas.ufg.br/vet/articletypes)
- Failure to submit required documents at the time of submission
Another important aspect is the journal’s effort to maintain a thematic balance across the fields of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Science, and related areas, which also influences article selection throughout the year.
What should authors consider before submitting a manuscript?
Given this scenario, the Editorial Board strongly recommends carefully reviewing the author guidelines and ensuring that the manuscript aligns with the journal’s scope and editorial priorities prior to submission.
Processing time: what to expect?
CAB works with an average timeframe of up to 30 days for the initial evaluation of manuscripts. This allows authors to receive a prompt response, particularly in cases of rejection at the screening stage.
For manuscripts that proceed to peer review, the estimated average processing time is around 6 months. At this stage, the main challenge lies in the availability of reviewers. Reviews are conducted by PhD-level researchers from various institutions who contribute on a voluntary basis. In many cases, multiple invitations are required before reviewers are secured, and deadlines are not always met.
There are situations in which a single manuscript must be sent to more than 20 potential reviewers before the process is completed and a decision can be made by the Editor. This is the primary reason why some manuscripts may exceed the initial 6-month timeframe.
The CAB team thanks authors for their trust and reaffirms its commitment to an ethical, transparent, and high-quality editorial process, contributing to the dissemination of scientific knowledge in an accessible manner and aligned with best practices in open science.
Editorial Board
