For environmental law specialists, statement may encourage searches in the illegal market; Ibama did not comment
The declaration of President (PT) on can be interpreted as an environmental crime. Is the evaluation of experts in environmental law consulted by the Poder360 (Read below).
Here’s what Lula said on February 13, 2025:
“I’m eating now egg of paw, which says it’s more contained, and as I’m a 79 -year -old, I have to eat a lot of paw egg. Chicken egg is for you who are young. I am eating now egg of ema! The Ema egg is of this size and equals 12 chicken eggs. I went to research if I could eat and I can eat, because I have 70 emas in the palace of Alvorada and they put egg the size of your head […] Any day I’m going to eat jabuti egg too. ”
Watch the video with Lula’s statement (1min16s):
Then read what excerpt says:
- “Those who sell, expose for sale, export or acquire, guard, have captive or deposit, uses or transport eggs, larvae or specimens of wildlife, native or on migratory route, as well as products and objects from their breeding. authorized or without proper permission, license or authorization of the competent authority ”.
The penalty is 6 months to 1 year in prison, in addition to a fine of by egg collected without authorization, for species of endangered birds. This is not the case with the emas. As animals do not take this risk, the fine is R$ 500.
There is another excerpt from the same article (No. 29), however, which says that “In the case of a domestic guard of wild species not considered threatened with extinction, the judge may, considering the circumstances, fail to apply the penalty.”. That is, if the tutor of an ema or jabuti decides to consume the eggs of animals, the court may decide not to punish it.
O Article 225 It defines the Brazilian fauna as a national heritage and puts under the state the responsibility of maintaining the safety of wild fauna in Brazil.
O Poder360 It found that the Planalto Palace is authorized by the (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) to be a conservation creation to create, reproduce and maintain captive fauna specimens. The emas are at Alvorada, official residence of the Presidency of the Republic, while, in the Official Country House of the Presidency.
What the experts say
For environmental law expert Alessandro Azzoni, removing eggs from nature and consuming them, as Lula said, would be considered an environmental crime with effect “Destroyer of Brazilian fauna”.
According to lawyer Specialist in Environmental Law Samanta Pineda, the statement could have this effect because it can be interpreted as a “incentive” looking for ema or jabutis eggs in the illegal market.
Environmental Criminal Law expert Pedro Bueno de Andrade disagrees. Stated that, “Starting from the premise” that the creation of emas in the palace of Alvorada has the authorization of the responsible bodies, the consumption of eggs of animals “it does not seem” be a crime. This is because legislation punishes this conduct only when animals are in nature or illegal breeders.
What does Ibama say
O Poder360 contacted Ibama on Monday (17.FEV) to ask if Lula’s statement about eating emes of emas and jabutis would be considered a crime. He asked for a position every day throughout the week. There was no answer until the publication of this report. The text will be updated if a demonstration is sent to this digital newspaper.
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This report was produced by the trainee in journalism Davi Alencar under the supervision of the Chief of Writing, Brunno Kono.
