Leader of the anti-animal program, Bolsonaro’s party is growing in the elections

With 38 federal representatives who voted for rodeo and vaquejadas in the current mandate, with two senators who defend the intensification of the export of live animals and the hunting and commercialization of the meat of wild animals that are considered invasive – Zequinha Marinho (PA ) and Wellington Fagundes (MT) – Liberal Party , which leads the anti-animal agenda in the National Congress, managed to increase its influence for the period 2023-2026 by electing 99 representatives and eight senators yesterday (2nd).

With this, PL becomes the largest party in the House of Representatives and the Senate, expanding its influence in defining the future of bills that will be presented and evaluated from 2023.

We would like to point out that until now, in relation to all proposals that are harmful to animals, including the use of animals for entertainment and hunting, the party’s recommendation was to support them.

Today, in connection with hunting, for example, the main legislation being processed in Congress is that of Senator Wellington Fagundes (MT)leader of the parliamentary bloc of Vanguard, which consists of the Liberal Party (PL) and the Brazilian Workers Party (PTB), which also envisages the commercialization of products and by-products resulting from the hunting of wild animals considered invasive.

Fagundes, who through the Senate defended the creation of a National Rodeo Day, which will be celebrated tomorrow (4), the day when the World Animal Day is celebrated, was re-elected yesterday (2) with 63.54% of the vote, as well as vice-captain Augusto ( SP), who received 168,740 votes and is the author of the proposal that became the law establishing National Rodeo Day.

It should be noted that today Fagundes’ proposal is the main one in relation to hunting, concentrating, by merging, four more laws.

Carla Zambelli (SP), re-elected with 946,222 votes, is the author of PL 4249/2021. In the proposal, which gives the false impression that its purpose is to protect animals and recognize them as valuable “of a special legal nature”, she points out that the right to use animals in agricultural production, scientific research and “demonstrations”. “cultural heritage” recognized as “Brazilian cultural heritage” (rodeo, vaquejada, lasso, etc.), along with animal domestication.

A similar proposal was presented by the re-elected Captain Augusto (SP), through PL 3977/2021. The intention is to protect the economic exploitation of animals – which includes animals raised for consumption, companionship or any other purpose.

In the proposal, Augusto claims that the creation and use of animals must be ensured – “the free performance of economic activities involving animals” “And all activities related to their functioning, such as actions of transportation, advertising, exhibition and sale of animals, products and by-products, face to face in person and at a distance, using the Internet, social networks and e-commerce platforms or others arising from future technologies.”

PL provides a list of more than 100 domestic animal species that the MP classifies as traffic – which includes mammals, birds (also birds) and insects. “Ownership of farmed animals and all rights arising therefrom, including commercial rights, are guaranteed.”

ON deputy Fernando Rodolfo (PE), who identifies himself as a supporter of Vaquejada on his Instagram profile, was also re-elected. He is the author of Law 2973/2021, which aims to establish the National Vaquejada Day. Serving the interests of the Brazilian Association of Vaquejada (ABVAQ) and the Brazilian Association of Quarter Horse Breeders (ABQM), he claims that vaquejada “represents the tradition of many national communities”.

Also re-elected, Giovani Cherini (RS), who received 162,036 votes, is the author of bill 6575/2019, which aims to recognize Creole rodeo as a “popular culture activity”, which is currently being processed in the Senate.

Federal representative Domingos Sábio (MG), who was re-elected yesterday (2) with 90,219 votes, helped create law 13,873/2019, which exalts rodeo, vaquejada and the connection with Brazilian cultural heritage. Sávio defended the proposal at the plenary session of the Chamber in August 2019, when he said that animals participating in equestrian sports “are not abused”. “These animals are well fed, well cared for,” he said.

Luiz Lima (RJ) was also re-elected with 69,069 votes. In 2021, the deputy began to make his policy of defending animal exploitation more explicit by taking the position of the biggest defender of Law (PL) 318/2021 Paul Bengtson (PTB-PA), who was not re-elected yesterday (2) , which proposes to recognize a large number of research practices of other species as intangible cultural heritage.

Today, the proposal is no longer being processed independently because it was added to PL 4705/2020, but not because of Lima’s lack of commitment to trying to turn the situation around. He even requested arbitrary executive intervention to try to force such recognition – as can be seen in Indication 791/2021.

Luiz Lima’s fight is not only for the recognition as an intangible cultural heritage of the creation and use of animals by livestock, but also for activities such as vaquejadas, rodeos, exhibitions and other types of competitions; as well as the exploitation of animals as “labor force”, traction forces and races.

In addition, prioritizing the economic aspect, the representative is against the ban on the trade in wild animals – a position he defended as a rapporteur in the Committee for Culture during the rejection of Bill 4705/2020. In his defense, Lima only repeated the same justification made by Paulo Bengtson (PTB-PA) in the Commission on Environment and Sustainable Development, when he also rejected the PL.

If, on the one hand, Luiz Lima is against giving benefits to wild animals, on the other hand, he approved PL 7624/2017, former deputy Milton Monti, as rapporteur of the Committee on Culture, which aims to recognize rodeo as a sport and participants as athletes.

Also as rapporteur, Luiz Lima approved PL 213/2015 by Giovani Cherini (PL-RS), which defends the recognition of Creole rodeo as a “popular culture activity” – which includes a great variety of practices consisting of the subjugation and demolition of the animal.