Post by account_disabled on Mar 14, 2024 10:21:58 GMT
Animals are subjects of law and must have their basic rights protected. This is what judge Djalma Moreira Gomes, of the 25th Federal Court of São Paulo, understood when suspending the export of live animals throughout the national territory.
Brazil exports an average of 600,000 animals per year. The decision is valid until each country of destination commits to adopting slaughter practices B2B Lead compatible with those recommended by the Brazilian legal system and as long as specific, concrete and verifiable standards are published and observed.
The injunction, signed this Friday (2/2), is based on the situation of thousands of cattle that were waiting to go to Turkey, from the Port of Santos. According to the National Forum for the Protection and Defense of Animals, author of the action, during the wait they did not even have drinking water.
The entity stated that this type of transport is carried out cruelly, without complying with several health rules. “Whether by land or sea, the suffering caused by trauma, adverse temperatures, lack of food and water, exhaustion and lack of hygienic-sanitary conditions is evident,” he stated in the request. The forum said that Brazil does not comply with several articles of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code.
The author also states that it is scientifically proven that the stress generated by transport over long distances causes depletion of muscle glycogen, negatively affecting the sensory characteristics of the meat, such as increasing its rigidity.
Defendant in the action, the Union responded that it is not up to the Brazilian government to verify the treatment of cattle in countries outside its jurisdiction. He also stated that the initial petition included photos of animal transport “taken from Google”, without portraying the reality of the country.
For the judge, it was found that the animals are subjected to inadequate handling and accommodation that show a total absence of animal welfare, in a situation “if not cruelty in very similar conditions”.
Gomes highlighted that the evolution of civilization meant that animals stopped being just objects of law and became subjects of law. He also recalled that Brazil is a signatory to international standards, committing to prevent animals from being subjected to mistreatment or cruel acts, including when they are killed for human consumption.
Extradition rule
The judge stated that the country has slaughter rules and that it needs to make sure that these rules are complied with in the countries where the animals are exported. “To keep in mind what I mean, it is enough to pay attention to the extradition regime for a foreign person to be prosecuted or to serve a sentence abroad: there they cannot suffer a sentence that does not exist in our legal system nor suffer a sentence greater than the that I would receive in Brazil for the same fact”, he said.