A Brazilian federal court has banned the export of live cattle from the country over animal welfare concerns.
Federal judge Djalma Gomes made the judgement on Tuesday.
The verdict can be appealed, but, for now, all live cattle exports are banned at Brazilian ports.
Brazil had live cattle exports valued at €173m in 2022, up 150% from 2021, but still down on pre-COVID figures, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
The country’s live cattle exports are sold mainly to developing countries, especially in the Middle East, with Iraq, Jordan and Turkey being its top three markets last year.
Export ban
The case leading to judge Gomes’ verdict began in 2017, when a Brazilian animal welfare NGO, the National Forum for the Protection and Defence of Animals, filed a lawsuit in a Sao Paulo court requesting all live cattle exports be banned.
In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, the animal rights group described the live export ban as a “major victory”.
“After a long procedural process, a historic sentence for the rights of animals was handed down, in which the suffering caused to animals is recognised,” a spokesperson said.
Minerva SA, one of South America’s leading live cattle exporters, has so far not released a statement on the ban.
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