‘Pirate’ cattle will be seized
03/06/2008
Carlos Minc, new Brazilian minister of the environment, has expressed regret at the numbers released by the National Institute of Space Research (Inpe) which show the increase of Amazon Forest deforestation in April. “These are worrying numbers,” he said, “but at least they make it possible for the government to plan actions that can prevent these figures from growing in the next few months.”
Among the measures announced by the ministry of the environment, Dr Minc mentioned seizing “pirate cattle”. This measure would allow the relevant authorities to apprehend cattle found in illegally deforested land. Dr Minc has said that such actions are to be implemented in a join effort with the federal police and will start this month. He said that the production of soy and beef are largely liable for the deforestation process.
“As we all know, the movement of cattle towards the frontier of the forest accounts for 70%–80% of deforestation of the Amazon jungle,” he pointed out. He also said that any seized cattle would be donated to the government’s ‘Zero Hunger’ programme. He concluded: “This way, we will decelerate deforestation and feed the people.”
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