Thaís Brianezi
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Manaus - Conventional wisdom is that the villians responsible for the decimation of fauna in the world's tropical forests are international dealers in endangered wildlife. Right? Well, maybe the situation is just a little more complicated, at least in the Amazon.

The Brazilian Environmental Protection Institute (Ibama) has discovered that most of the 830 animals taken in for shelter in 2005 at its Center for Wild Fauna (Núcleo de Fauna Silvestre) in the Amazon region were turtles and alligators (tartarugas e jacarés). While turtles and alligators have their attractions, they are not the most popular exotic fauna among the pilferers; however they are culinary delicacies among the local inhabitants.

Which raises an interesting question: as Ibama goes about its job stymieing the pilferers of exotic wildlife, is it interfering with the gastronomical habits of the Amazon region population?

The head of the center, João Duarte, defends Ibama: "We do not confiscate turtles from hungry riverside dwellers. Environmental laws ensure their right to use them for food. What they cannot do is transport them for commercial purposes without special permission." The legislation is very strict about that, he explains, and when that happens the animals can be confiscated and wind up in the Ibama Center for Wild Fauna.

Duarte goes on to say that progress in being made in fighting the traffic in exotic species. An example is that the total number of animals cared for in the center fell sharply in 2005 (it was 1,143 in 2004). And at the same time, he says, educational campaigns among tourists and local inhabitants regarding prohibitions on the use of feathers in handicrafts has reduced the illegal traffic in birds.

Most of the animals taken into the center are returned to the forest, says Duarte. Some are used for scientific research, a few go to zoos, and some may be kept in special ecological reserves with Ibama authorization, he concludes.

Translation: Allen Bennett