Wildlife trafficking exposes challenges facing the Brazilian legal system

Sold in clandestine fairs or on digital platforms, Wild animals drive an illegal market that is often underestimated in Brazil.

The country is responsible for drug trafficking 38 million wild animals per yearaccording to data from the Social Organization of Public Interest (Oscip) and the National Network to Combat Wild Animal Trafficking (Renctas).

According to the animal trafficking is the fourth most profitable illegal business in the world, behind only drug trafficking, human trafficking and the arms trade. “Unfortunately, only 10% of the animals captured by criminals reach their destinations alive. It is carnage”, said Fred Costa, rapporteur of the proposal during the vote. It is estimated that the Annual profit from the activity is around 8 billion to 20 billion euros.

In São Paulo, 9,487 wild animals were received by the Wild Animal Screening and Recovery Center (Cetras-SP) only in 2025. Of this total, 5,046 underwent rehabilitation processes.

‘Legislation needs to be improved’

In November 2025, Bill 347/03, known as . The text increases the penalty for the environmental crime of killing, hunting or catching wild animals without authorization or license.

In Brazil, there are two main federal laws that deal with wildlife trafficking.

• Fauna Protection Lawwhich prohibits hunting, capturing, selling or keeping in captivity any wildlife animal without authorization from the State.
• Environmental Crimes Lawwhich establishes penalties for crimes against wildlife, including hunting and capturing animals in the wild.

Despite the existence of legal protection, the effective application of legislation faces obstacles in practice. Experts advocate strengthening legislation and adoption of stricter measures in the country to protect fauna.

“A country as large as Brazil often suffers from a lack of agents in sufficient numbers and ethical qualifications for punishment. This makes it even more difficult for trafficking to be effectively combated”, assesses Vânia Nunes, a veterinary doctor from UNESP and technical director of the National Forum for Animal Protection and Defense.

Lawyer and PhD student in Animal Law at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Yuri Fernandes, argues that the severity of the problem is also directly impacted by the existence of a “bad legislation that needs to be improved”.

“It’s a very complex situation to resolve. I believe we could start by having firmer legislation. They are not enough”, highlights the lawyer.

Main victims of trafficking

They are distributed across different regions of the country and include, above all, birds, mammals and reptiles.

Species most affected by wildlife trafficking in Brazil:

Birds

• Coleirinha
• Picharro
• True land canary
• prairie cock
• Blackbird
• Azulão
• Tico-tico
• True parrot
• orange thrush
• land canary
• grass pope
• Macaws
• Pixoxó

Reptiles

• Piranga tortoise
• water tiger

Mammals

• Black-eared opossum
• capuchin monkey
• Marmoset

Specialized trafficking

Considering that only a portion of the animals captured by traffickers make it to their destination alive, the survivors are subjected to extreme cruelty practices throughout the entire journey.

In general, 100% of animals involved in illegal trade are according to Cetras-SP biologist Lilian Sayuri Fitorra.

“There are cases in which more than 50 birds are placed in a single small box, exposed to very high temperatures, without access to food or water”, points out Lilian.

In an attempt to reduce losses during illegal transportation, Traffickers have been improving methods and techniques to increase profits. “A dead animal is lost money for them, as they have no sensitivity at all”, explains the Cetras-SP biologist.

For Ibama, the main change in gang modus operandi has been the increased use of digital platforms, including social networks, to establish contact between the dealer and the buyer.

“Before, the buyer looked for the dealer mainly at street markets. Although they still exist, it is now much more common for communication to be carried out virtually”, reports the Institute.

Environmental imbalance

The removal of wild fauna from the natural environment results in direct environmental effects. As More far-reaching consequences involve ecological imbalance. “The prey animals of the trafficked species can suffer unrestrained growth due to the lack of predators, which can then lead to other consequences. This is what is called in ecology the ‘cascading effect”, pointed out the Institute.

Another problem with the significant removal of species from their natural habitat is the contribution to the phenomenon known as “empty forest syndrome”.

“The perception of a green area without fauna can give the impression that it is a healthy forest due to the vegetation, but it is functionally dead”, explains Ibama. “The loss of key species affects the dynamics of the entire ecosystem, also harming seed dispersal and pollination,” he adds.

How to report or request the rescue of an animal in danger?

There are several channels available to report the illegal trade and trafficking of wild animals, as well as to request the rescue of animals at risk. It is also possible call the authorities to take a rescued wild animalas long as it does not pose a danger to whoever collects it, or carry out the voluntary and spontaneous delivery of an animal kept illegally.

Below are the main channels for this type of reporting and assistance:

Service

Environmental Military Police, see:

Contact the nearest Environmental Policing unit:

In cases of emergency call: 190

IBAMA, telephone service: 0800 061 8080

In the city of São Paulo, City Hall: 156

Wild Animal Screening and Recovery Center São Paulo (Cetras-SP): 2823-2272