MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Export of live animals do not violate Brazilian law, federal court ruling

The export of live animals, cattle and sheep, are a booming business in Mercosur countries.

A Brazilian Federal Court has ruled that the export of live animals for slaughter does not violate Brazilian law. The unanimous decision of the Federal Court overturned a lower court ruling that had suspended the activity at all Brazilian ports.

The decision was in response to an appeal filed by the federal government, which argued that live animal transport cannot be automatically classified as ill-treatment. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office also emphasized that Brazilian regulations already establish specific protection guidelines against animal cruelty.

The case was first heard in December 2023, when presiding judge Nery Júnior voted in favor of continuing live animal exports. “There is no legal prohibition on the international trade of live animals, nor is there concrete evidence that maritime transport inherently involves animal cruelty,” he stated in his ruling.

Judge Carlos Delgado pointed out that defining stricter regulations for live animal transport is a legislative matter, not a judicial one. In his view, there was no evidence that exports of live animals constitute cruelty.

Delgado also pointed out that the lawsuit’s request was overly broad, aiming to halt live animal shipments across the entire country without conducting a comprehensive assessment. He highlighted that the case was based on the inspection of a single vessel, which was insufficient to justify a nationwide ban.

Breeders were also satisfied with the ruling. Eduardo Diamantino, partner at Diamantino Advogados Associados and legal representative for the Brazilian Association of Zebu Breeders (ABCZ), argued, “This is a structural issue, and an outright export ban would not solve the problem. Instead, it would cause significant disruptions in the supply chain”.

He also stressed that live animal exports are market-driven and already subject to strict regulations, with oversight from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (MAPA) at every stage, plus the sanitary inspections by importing countries.

The temporary ban on exports originated from a lawsuit filed by the National Forum for Animal Protection and Defense, which secured a favorable ruling in April 2023. At the time, federal judge Djalma Moreira Gomes argued that animals have rights and should receive legal protection. However, he ruled that the suspension would only take effect if upheld by Federal Courts, which ultimately overturned the lower court’s decision.