Amnesty International Accuses JBS of Buying Cattle Raised in Protected Amazon Areas

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A report released by Amnesty International on Wednesday, July 15th, states that JBS, the world’s largest beef processing company, has used illegally raised cattle in protected areas of the Brazilian Amazon in its supply chain.

The NGO accuses the Brazilian company of failing to monitor its indirect beef suppliers, also noting that some of them are part of a “cattle laundering” scheme, in which animals raised in illegal areas are moved before sale to intermediate farms to make it seem like they were raised in a legal area, thereby circumventing monitoring systems. The company denies this.

Amnesty International relied on official animal health control documents proving that JBS directly acquired cattle from a farm in the Rio Ouro Preto Reserve in the state of Rondônia in two instances in 2019. In addition, last year it repeatedly purchased cattle from two farmers who operate illegal farms in protected areas and legal farms outside the restricted breeding areas.

By engaging in economic incentives for cattle raised illegally in protected areas, Amnesty International claims JBS is contributing to human rights violations of indigenous peoples and traditional communities living in extractive reserves. “JBS has failed to implement an effective monitoring system in its supply chain, including its indirect suppliers.”

“It needs to repair the damage caused and immediately implement systems to prevent this from happening again,” said Richard Pearshouse, the NGO’s director of Crises and Environment.

Questioned by Amnesty International, JBS said it “does not buy cattle from any farm involved in illegal livestock farming in protected areas” and that it adopts “an unequivocal zero-deforestation approach throughout its supply chain.” The company also stressed that it “closely monitors its suppliers for compliance with all aspects” of its “Responsible Purchasing Policy” and “has not previously identified any problems related to human rights violations by indigenous communities or other protected groups.”

According to the NGO, JBS chose not to address its question on monitoring indirect suppliers, stating that “traceability of the entire beef supply chain is a challenge for the whole industry and a complex task.”

Brazil currently has 214 million heads of cattle, more than any other country. In recent years, the Amazon region has recorded the highest growth in the Brazilian cattle industry. Since 1988, the number of cattle in the region quadrupled to 86 million in 2018, representing 40 percent of the national total, according to data from the NGO.

Part of this growth has come from destroying large areas of protected forest located on indigenous lands and extractive reserves. In all, 63 percent of the deforested area between 1988 and 2014 became cattle pasture – an area that is five times the size of Portugal.

The increasing deforestation in the Amazon reached in June this year the largest destruction recorded in five years, according to Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (INPE). The data add to the pressure on the Bolsonaro government, at a time when foreign investors are strongly demanding more effective action against the destruction of the forest.

Some European countries have suggested that the European Union should suspend the purchase of Brazilian meat and refrain from pursuing the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European bloc unless Brazil takes steps to protect the Amazon forest.

Some three-quarters of Brazil’s beef is consumed in the country, but the remaining one-quarter is exported to other countries. Brazilian beef’s main destinations include China, Hong Kong, Egypt, Chile, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

Increased illegal livestock activity in Rondônia

Amnesty International conducted its research by investigating three sites: the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Territory, and the extractive reserves Rio Jacy-Paraná and Rio Ouro Preto, all in the state of Rondônia. The organization found no evidence to suggest direct JBS involvement in human rights violations at the three sites investigated.

However, in all three areas, recent illegal land grabbings have led to a loss of traditional land, protected under Brazilian law.

Data from the state animal health agency of Rondônia (IDARON), collected by the organization, show a sharp increase in commercial livestock farming in protected areas in the state. Between November 2018 and April 2020, the total number of cattle increased 22 percent, from 125,560 to 153,566. Data from IDARON also show that during 2019, 89,406 cattle were transferred from farms located in protected areas where commercial cattle farming is illegal.

The vast majority of these animals are sent to other farms before heading for slaughter. This means that even cattle from legally-established farms may have formerly been raised illegally in protected areas.

Brazilian cattle are often transferred between different farms. Those selling cattle to slaughterhouses are called direct suppliers, and others where the cattle grazed before that are known as indirect suppliers. Researchers estimate that between 91 and 95 percent of farms buy cattle from indirect suppliers.

Amnesty International, in cooperation with the NGO Repórter Brasil, analyzed official animal health control documents revealing that JBS bought cattle directly from a farm located in the Rio Ouro Preto Extractive Reserve in two instances in 2019.

In addition, in 2019 JBS purchased cattle on several occasions from two farmers who operate both illegal farms in protected areas and legal farms outside such areas. One of the farmers raises cattle illegally in the Jacy-Paraná River Extractive Reserve and the other in the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Territory.

In both instances, farmers recorded cattle transfers from a farm within one of the protected areas to a farm out of the protected area and then recorded separate cattle transfers from the legal farm to JBS. On two occasions, the second transfer was recorded within minutes of the first. Both transfers involved an identical number of animals, of the same age group and of the same sex.

The animals were aged over 36 months, a common age group for cattle taken to slaughter. According to experts, this may be an indication of the practice of cattle laundering.

Source: El País