Abstract
The state of São Paulo is one of the 27 states of Brazil. In this state, law enforcement authorities uncover an average of 30,000 illegally caught wild animals every year.1 Although efforts have been undertaken to address this criminal activity, wildlife trafficking has persisted for a number of reasons. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss why the trade has continued to occur in São Paulo and why efforts to thwart it have been ineffective.
The author is a Major in the Military Police of the state of São Paulo. He has studied and written about animal protection legislation for more than 20 years. This chapter has been translated from Portuguese.
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Notes
- 1.
This figure is based on data from the System for Environmental Administration of the Environmental Military Police (SAA/PAmb) for the period of 2000–2014.
- 2.
In Brazil, the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis or IBAMA) and state agencies (State Secretaries of the Environment) oversee various matters relating to fauna and flora. Responsibility regarding import and export of wildlife rests exclusively with the federal agency, IBAMA.
- 3.
On average, more than 90 % of creatures seized in São Paulo are birds that are destined for sale as pets (data from the System for Environmental Administration [SAA/Pamb] of the Environmental Military Police for the period of 2000–2014). This figure does not include the number of beasts seized by other security forces, such as municipal guards, civil and federal police, and monitoring agencies, as there is no single database for all institutions that recover wild animals.
- 4.
According to Federal Law nº 6001, of December 19, 1973.
- 5.
According to data from SAA/PAmb, between 2009 and 2014, 4,772 Amazona aestiva were seized in the state of São Paulo.
- 6.
Calculated as one US dollar to 3.8 Reais.
- 7.
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), São Paulo is the state with the largest GDP with US$370.7 million; this figure represents 31.1 % of the national GDP, which is $1.182 billion (see http://www.ibge.gov.br. Accessed Oct. 10, 2015).
- 8.
According to Federal Law no. 8069 of July 13, 1990 (Statute of the Child and Adolescent), children under 12 years of age who break the law are considered to have committed an “infraction,” rather than a “crime,” and thus cannot be punished (although children between the ages of 12 and 17 who commit “infractions” can receive sanctions involving socio-educational measures). Only upon reaching the age of 18 can an individual who violates the law be considered to have committed a “crime” punishable by the criminal justice system.
- 9.
According to IBAMA, for every million animals hunted, between 120,000 and 260,000 die due to mistreatment from the traffickers.
- 10.
The standardization of procedures is described in the Resolution of the National Council on the Environment (CONAMA) (nº 457 of June 25, 2013), which refers to the possibility that the traffickers themselves give provisional care to wild animals recovered or rescued by environmental institutions within the National System of the Environment, or turned over volitionally, when there is a justifiable impossibility of reaching the destinations indicated in §1 of art. 25, of Law no 9605, of February 12, 1998.
- 11.
In Brazil, if someone who has an illegal wild animal relinquishes it voluntarily to the security forces, he/she cannot face civil, penal or administrative penalties.
- 12.
The Environmental Military Police of the state of São Paulo has only recently acquired and begun to test six vehicles adapted specifically for the transport of wild animals.
- 13.
Studies indicate that there are more than 30 million alligators currently in the Mato Grosso pantanal (see http://riosvivos.org.br/a/Noticia/Ibama+estuda+abate+controlado+de+jacares+no+Pantanal/10306 (accessed on October 3, 2015)).
- 14.
According to art. 32 of the Environmental Crime Law, “mistreatment” is defined as the practice of abuse, injury and mutilation of wild, domestic, domesticated and exotic animals.
- 15.
A “basic food basket” is a combination of foods considered basic for one person, whose values are monitored monthly in the country by government agencies, so that the increases in the price of foods for the population, in particular for those on low incomes, can be controlled. It usually contains the following foods: beans, bread, butter, flour, fruit, milk, oil, potatoes, powdered coffee, rice, tomatoes and sugar (see http://valorsalariominimo.org/quanto-custa-uma-cesta-basica-no-brasil/ (accessed November 1, 2015)).
References
BRAZIL. Parliamentary Inquiry Commission created to investigate the illegal trafficking of wild animals and plants of Brazil. (CPItrafi). Final report. 2001. http://www2.camara.leg.br/atividade-legislativa/comissoes/comissoes-temporarias/parlamentar-de-inquerito/51-legislatura/cpitrafi/relatorio/relatoriofinal.pdf. Accessed October 10, 2015.
BRAZIL. Federal Law no. 9099, of 26 September 1995. Refers to special civil and criminal courts and other issues. Available at: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/Leis/0L9099.htm. Accessed August 6, 2014.
BRAZIL. Federal Law no. 9605, of 12 February 1998. Refers to penal and administrative sanctions due to conduct and activities damaging to the environment and other issues. Available at: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/Leis/L9605.htm. Accessed August 6, 2014.
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Nassaro, M.R.F. (2017). Wildlife Trafficking in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. In: Rodríguez Goyes, D., Mol, H., Brisman, A., South, N. (eds) Environmental Crime in Latin America. Palgrave Studies in Green Criminology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55705-6_11
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