Stopping Destructive March of Cattle in the Amazon
BRAZIL - Brazil's new environmental minister has decided to focus his efforts on the spread of cattle farmers in the amazon in order to prevent further deforestation.
4 June 2008
2 minute read
According to The Associated Press, the minister, Carlos Minc, says Brazil's government will impound cattle caught grazing on illegally cleared pastures with an operation, dubbed "Rogue Bull," to attack deforestation in the rain forest.
"The price of meat and soy has skyrocketed and there is a historic relationship between prices and deforestation," Minc said as he announced the new measures late Monday.
The Associated Press reports that officials are going after livestock because ranchers routinely find ways to avoid fines for illegal logging by felling public forests for grazing land.
It says that after three years of decline, Amazon deforestation appears to be accelerating again as international demand for agricultural products skyrocket. Minc's announcement marked the first step he has taken to prevent deforestation since being named to the post last month.
He replaced Marina Silva, a renowned Amazon defender who resigned May 13, citing stagnation in promoting the federal environmental agenda.
Government researchers said Monday that preliminary data indicate the Amazon lost at least 2,258 square miles (5,850 square kilometers) of forest cover from August to April 2008. That was up from 1,920 square miles (4,974 square kilometers) over the same period a year before.
The Amazon's 73 million cows outnumber the human population by about three to one and feeding them is the biggest driver of deforestation.
TheCattleSite News Desk
