In early November, the Environmental Military Police of Brotas received a complaint of mistreatment and abandonment of buffaloes, found in a frightening scenario with numerous dead animals scattered around the property of Luiz Augusto Pinheiro de Souza, owner of the Água Sumida Farm (rural area of the municipality).

Mostly females, elderly and pregnant women with their young, were abandoned to their fate on the grounds that "I can't afford to take care of the animals and couldn't sell them", costing the lives of at least 22 buffaloes.
Accused of mistreatment and arrested, he was released after posting bail of R$ 10,000 thousand reais and the PM Environmental reports that applied a fine of R$ 2.13 million for mistreatment to the farmer, who will appeal against the fine.

According to article 29 of Resolution Sima 005/21, it is determined a fine of R$ 3,000 for each animal victim of mistreatment, being double if the animal dies.
On the 11th, judge Rodrigo Carlos Alves de Melo granted provisional protection to the NGO Amor e Respeito Animal (ARA), for the necessary treatment to the surviving animals, but on the 18th, judge Marcela Machado Martiniano withdrew the provisional protection of the NGO and returned the animals to the owner of the farm under the allegation that the excess of people and the apparatus (improvised hospitals) scared the buffalo herd.

Deputy Douglas Brandão do Amaral went to the farm on the 21st and found that the animals were still being mistreated and had no water or food. The delegate wrote the deed of deposit declaring the president Nelson Alex Parente of the NGO Ara as the depositary of all the animals.
According to the defense of the farmer, his lawyer Celso Barbará da Silva, says that the pastures suffered the consequences of the biggest drought in 90 years that hit the rural region of Brotas, in addition to two frosts, according to news published in July this year.

By obligation of the farmer, the lack of food for the animals should be replaced with other food, because nothing justifies the way the animals are being treated. According to the reports, the farmer forces his employees to pass tractors on the site to spoil pasture, and thus makes it even more difficult to feed the animals.
The NGO Ara informed that they will request definitive custody and, according to the Secretary of Agriculture of Brotas, Luiz Fernando Braz da Silva, the municipality will support them as much as possible and are waiting for new judicial decisions.

We will leave our note about the situation.

We are following the case of the buffaloes in Brotas, and to the farmer Luiz Augusto Pinheiro de Souza we repudiate his actions against the buffaloes, and we expect the necessary actions from the Justice Department so that all the animals are removed from Água Sumida Farm and receive the proper care.

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF ANIMAL RIGHTS

The rights of the animal must be defended by law as the rights of man.