Sao Paulo, Brazil - Legislators in Brazil's Rondonia state have little publicity, little publicity, and have passed legislation in favor of hundreds of cattle ranchers who have illegally transformed into Amazon rainforests.

The new legislation, adopted on April 28 and came into effect immediately, also granted amnesty to slaughterhouses that illegally purchased cattle that were raised illegally in the Jaci-Parana protected area, effectively disbanding the cattle.

"All fines, notices of violations, and other administrative penalties related to occupation and use of the area will be operated automatically and have no legal or financial consequences," the law said.

One of the beneficiaries of the amnesty may be the world's largest meat-based bag, JBS SA, which is expected to start selling shares on the New York Stock Exchange in June. According to a 2023 audit by the Brazilian Federal Prosecution Bureau, 12% of the cattle purchased by JBS in Rondonia come from areas where the illegal defense is made.

In exchange for an amnesty, ranchers must join Rondonia's environmental formalization program, which requires them to stop deforestation and submit a plan for part of the area. The law does not give them public land, but allows it to be used under a 30-year concession. Although law prohibits the sale of cattle in Brazilian reserves. According to the National Animal Department, there are about 216,000 ranches.

"The law is an insult. If unconstitutional is not declared, it will be one of the biggest threats to all protected areas facing protection of land invasions," Wellington Lamburgini said. "It conveys the message of this crime and will eventually be legalized."

State Councilman Luís Do Hospital sponsored the bill, and state legislators Alex Redano and JBS declined to comment.

The expectation that illegal use of land will be approved is the main driver of Amazon deforestation.

Land robs the land, hoping that it will eventually be legalized by lax land laws or governmental rights. In most cases, forests are cleared to showcase economic activity.

In recent years, the Office of the Attorney General of the Rondoña, the State Attorney’s Office and environmental agencies have fined and prosecuted hundreds of cattle pastors and four slaughterhouses to cause damage in the Jaci-Parana reserve, where large-scale feeding of large-scale cattle is prohibited.

The total amount of fines and pending legal settlements is $280 million, which is part of Rondonia State's estimated damages of more than $1 billion. Of the 778 identified land invaders, many have never been prosecuted. Despite several convictions, most people escaped punishment due to legal loopholes.

The state attorney’s office told the Associated Press that it is considering appealing the new law.

The Attorney General's Office declined to comment.

In December 2023, prosecutors in the state sued JBS and three other slaughterhouses for the purchase of cattle raised by Jaci-Parana. A few months later, two slaughterhouses (distributed) and three ranchers were ordered to cause environmental losses, paying $764,000. Neither company responded to a request for comment.

JBS faces three lawsuits pending trial. According to the company's defense in court documents, the company is in one of which the company argues that it has an environmental monitoring program that has locked down more than 20,000 farms in Rondonia. It also noted that the lawsuit was based solely on the purchase of 73 cows, accounting for 0.0006% of the state’s purchases.

According to the company, the deal occurred 12 years ago, involving fraud on cattle farms because he used geographical coordinates outside of Jaci-Parana reserves to make the sale appear legal. Since then, the producers have been blocked.

"There is only this lawsuit, even if it fails in the end, could cause immeasurable harm to JBS and expand to Brazil's economy, which the company has contributed a lot to that, accounting for about 2.1% of the country's GDP," the company said in court filings.

The meat packing bag said in a statement to the cuisine that starting from January 1, 2026, it will only buy cattle from producers of transparent livestock platforms, which allows ranchers to register information about their suppliers and they will also comply with JBS's socio-social environmental compliance standards.

Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved JBS' listing on the New York Stock Exchange despite strong opposition from environmental groups.

____

The Associated Press's climate and environmental coverage has received financial support from several private foundations. AP is responsible for all content. Find criteria for working with charity, which is the list of supporters and coverage of funding for AP.org.