The image of a jaguar cub tied next to two severed heads of larger jaguars provoked indignation among Internet users and animal defense movements. The 11-second video circulated on social networks on March 25 and, although there is suspicion that the recording was made in the municipality of Acorizal (MT), there is no confirmation regarding the origin of the content. Days after intense mobilization on the Internet and pressure from parliamentarians, the Minister of the Environment Marina Silva sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice requesting a criminal investigation of the case. In the document, she asks for expertise to be carried out in order to identify the perpetrator of the crime, which has not yet been registered in any police station. According to a note, Ibama is also investigating the case. Jaguars in sight This is not the first time that images of dead jaguars have circulated on the internet. In April 2022, Benedito Nédio Nunes Rondon, a farmer from Poconé (MT), posed next to a jaguar shot dead in the head. Released after posting bail, Rondon received a fine of R$ 150,000, divided into 30 installments. In 2021, a video of a jaguar shot down in the municipality of Arame (MA) also reached social media, as well as photographs of dead jaguars in different regions of the country, although hunting wild animals is prohibited by Brazilian law. In a note, the Ministry of the Environment requests that information about criminals be sent through the Fala.Br channel, from the Comptroller General of the Union. According to the agency, complaints are received anonymously and whistleblowers will not be identified. Justice for jaguars Deputy Felipe Becari. – Photo: Vinicius Loures/Chamber of Deputies Deputy Felipe Becari (União Brasil/SP), a member of the Environmentalist Front, filed a request for information with the Ministries of the Environment and Justice, questioning the measures taken to identify and punish the criminals. In the document, Becari mentions bill 752/2023, which he authored, which proposes aggravating penalties for crimes against fauna. “The request for information is precisely to demand the action of the authorities and public bodies, to bring them together with us in this fight, which is to achieve legislation that is up to par, that stops this type of practice”. Mild penalties, convertible into a fine, are often pointed out by environmental and animal defense movements as a factor that encourages crime. “Currently, criminals like these, who tortured and killed three jaguars, receive a sentence of six months to a year, but do not serve even one day in prison!”, says the NGO Ampara Silvestre in an Instagram post. With the hashtag #TodosContraACaça, the entity has promoted a campaign on social networks for the toughening of laws. According to the organization, there are more than 30 projects being processed in the National Congress with the proposal to increase the penalty for environmental crimes, among other measures, but they are not discussed and effectively voted. One of these projects is PL 211/2023, authored by deputy Zé Haroldo Cathedral (PSD/RR), which proposes the creation of Specialized Police Stations for Animal Protection (DEPA). The idea is to provide assistance to domestic and wild animals victims of crime. “The number of cruel cases like this generates indignation, a feeling of impunity, which is why I defend the creation of a specialized department, so that those responsible are duly investigated and punished in accordance with the law”, says the deputy. Another bill defended by environmental organizations is PL 968/2022, authored by Deputy Ricardo Izar (Republicans/SP), which increases the penalty for hunting and killing Brazilian cats. For Felipe Becari, the creation of a strong environmental group is what can promote the progress of these proposals. “What was missing was a supra-party union, with deputies from several states, parties and coalitions united in favor of this common good, which is to legislate to protect animals”, he says.
Agência Brasil
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