Brazil fines meatpacking companies, including giant JBS, for buying illegally raised cattle

Brasilia, BRAZIL -- Brazil's biology agency has levied $64 cardinal successful fines against 23 meatpacking companies and their suppliers for buying and trading cattle raised illegally connected deforested onshore successful nan Amazon.

The operation, dubbed Cold Meat 2, launched past week. It tracked 18,000 caput of cattle raised successful 100 quadrate miles (260 quadrate kilometers) of pasture that has been banned for commercialized usage owed to forbidden deforestation. The agents besides apprehended 8,854 caput of cattle recovered wrong nan restricted areas. News of nan fines began emerging complete nan weekend.

Cattle raising is nan main driver of deforestation successful nan Brazilian Amazon, pinch 90% of nan full area cleared betwixt 1985 and 2023 converted to pasture. That represents a full of 227,800 quadrate miles (590,000 quadrate kilometers), somewhat larger than France. As a result, 14% of nan Amazon is covered by grazing land, according to MapBiomas, a web of nongovernmental organizations that monitors onshore use.

“We are inspecting nan accumulation concatenation to clasp offenders accountable for acquiring products from deforestation and to guarantee that crime does not pay,” Jair Schmitt, main of biology protection astatine Brazil’s national biology agency, known arsenic Ibama, told The Associated Press.

Among those fined was JBS, nan world's largest meat-packing company. JBS has applied to beryllium listed connected nan New York Stock Exchange, a move that has faced guidance from immoderate U.S. lawmakers and biology nonprofits. It's not clear erstwhile nan U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission whitethorn make a determination connected JBS' bid.

The JBS good was $108,000 for purchasing 1,231 caput of cattle, nan 5th largest punishment among nan fined companies.

The cognition followed 3 months of investigation by Ibama's intelligence portion and is nan latest section linking JBS to forbidden deforestation. In December, AP revealed that it is facing lawsuits for allegedly purchasing cattle raised illegally successful Jaci-Parana, a protected area successful nan Brazilian Amazon.

In a statement, JBS denied buying cattle from embargoed areas and said it had already submitted documents to Ibama demonstrating their ineligible origin. However, nan institution declined to remark connected nan Jaci-Parana’s lawsuit contempt repeated requests for explanation from AP since it published nan story.

“JBS has maintained its Responsible Procurement Policy for 15 years and has a geospatial monitoring strategy successful spot to guarantee that nan institution does not acquisition animals from farms progressive successful forbidden deforestation, encroachment connected Indigenous lands aliases conservation areas that are nether embargo by Ibama,” publication nan statement.

Agropam, a meatpacker successful Boca do Acre city, received nan largest fine, $493,000, for buying 5,624 caput of cattle from forbidden areas. The company, which operates nether nan sanction of Frizam, sells beef only for Brazil's soul market. A connection requesting remark was not returned.

The different apical companies targeted were Mafrico, Frigol and 163 Beef. Mafrico and Frigo did not respond to requests for remark near by telephone and connected their websites. Contact accusation for 163 Beef was not instantly available, arsenic numbers connected its Facebook page were disconnected.

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