Brazil: Halt illegal cattle farms fuelling Amazon rainforest destruction - new report

[Judi Lynn]

26 Nov 2019, 03:01am

. . .

Cattle farming is the main driver of illegal land seizures on Reserves and Indigenous territories in Brazil’s Amazon, fuelling deforestation and trampling on the rights of Indigenous and traditional people living there, Amnesty International said in a new report today [26 November].

The 29-page report - Fence off and bring cattle: Illegal cattle farming in Brazil’s Amazon - was released as Amnesty, alongside Indigenous leaders from the Amazon, presented a petition with more than 162,000 signatures to Brazilian authorities calling on them to stop illegal seizures of protected land in the Amazon.

Richard Pearshouse, Amnesty International’s Head of Crisis and Environment, said:

“Illegal cattle ranching is the main driver of Amazon deforestation. It poses a very real threat, not only to the human rights of Indigenous and traditional peoples who live there, but also to the entire planet’s ecosystem.

“While the Bolsonaro administration slashes environmental protections at the Federal level, some state authorities are effectively enabling the illegal cattle farming which destroys protected areas of the rainforest.

More:
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/brazil-halt-illegal-cattle-farms-fuelling-amazon-rainforest-destruction-new-report