The presence of international elephant ivory trafficking in Brazil
*Translated from the Portuguese by an automated online translation service,
so please excuse the roughness. See link for original. *
The presence of international elephant ivory trafficking in Brazil
Hypeness
May 10, 2021
See link
https://www.hypeness.com.br/2021/05/a-presenca-do-trafico-internacional-de-marfim-de-elefantes-no-brasil/
for photos.
On May 3, the São Paulo Federal Police took to the streets to carry out
search and seizure warrants. The targets of Operation Airâvata (named after
an elephant god in Hindu mythology) were investigated for international
elephant ivory trafficking. The police found more than 200 ivory objects
and about 35 fossils in an antique store.
The PF action took place in partnership with the Brazilian Institute for
the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and the
Environmental Police of the State of São Paulo. This operation was an
offshoot of Operation Thunder, carried out last year.
Ibama identified among the pieces found those that are the teeth of wild
animals, such as elephant ivory. No crude pieces were found, but objects
such as necklaces, bracelets, pendants and statues. The authorities
estimate that the added value of the pieces found exceeds R $500 thousand.
Brazil is a signatory to an international treaty that prohibits the sale of
animals that are endangered. In this case, Asian and African elephants. Due
to the traffic, pieces that use ivory need to be accompanied by specific
documentation that proves that the material used has regularized origin.
None of the pieces found by the PF had the required paperwork.
Confronting the ivory trafficking is an extremely important environmental
action. According to the head of the Federal Police Precinct for the
Repression of Crimes against the Environment, Sebastião Pujol, the illegal
trade in parts that use the elephant's tooth leads to the extermination of
hundreds of animals a day that aim to profit from the sale of parts.
Ibama fined the offenders at R $5,000 per piece found.
The operation targeted a commercial establishment and a residence of the
same person, a merchant who owns a shop selling semi-precious stones and
antiques in general. In addition, the investigated man carries out an
activity in the educational area. There was no arrest in the act.
During the press conference, when asked if the products were being marketed
as if it were “normal”, the delegate implied that it was. "It would be good
if people were aware that the end consumer is directly collaborating with a
chain of commerce that results from the slaughter of animals that are
endangered, which are elephants", he says.
The delegate recalled that, in the first phase of the investigation,
materials were found that used ivory in their manufacture at a craft fair
in the open space of the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo (Masp). The
people found there were directly connected to the trader, something of the
Airâvata stock.