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The Federal Court of São Paulo banned the export of live cattle from all ports in the country, a decision hailed as historic this Thursday by an animal welfare group.
The verdict, which can be appealed, was handed down on Tuesday by federal judge Djalma Gomes.
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“Animals are not things. They are sentient living beings, that is, individuals who feel hunger, thirst, pain, cold, anguish, fear”, wrote Gomes in the sentence.
The National Forum for Animal Protection and Defense filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in 2017 requesting that all exports of live cattle be banned.
An injunction was granted suspending live cattle exports, but it was later overturned by the Federal Court of the 3rd Region (TRF-3), the NGO said.
The NGO called Gomes' decision “historic” due to its recognition of the “suffering caused to animals, in an activity similar to human trafficking during the era of slavery”.
Carlos Fávaro, Minister of Agriculture, told Reuters during a beef industry event that he had not spoken to the Attorney General's Office (AGU) about whether the federal government would file an appeal against the decision.
He said that the court decision was fulfilled, but defended the trade of live cattle in Brazil, saying that foreign buyers would not invest in animals that could lose weight during transport.
He said “the accommodations” in which the animals travel are adequate and “conducive” to the continued development of livestock.
The company Minerva, one of the main beef suppliers and exporters of live cattle in South America, did not immediately comment on the decision.
Source: Ana Mano | Notícias Agrícolas
