One Year After the “Fire Day” in the Amazon - Bacuri Farm

Located in Altamira, in the state of Pará, Fazenda Bacuri occupies 1,117.88 ha and was fined over R$ 2 million (US$ 613,000 at the time) for the illegal deforestation of 725.88 hectares - an area that remains under IBAMA’s embargo since October 2016. Illegal fires were recorded within Fazenda Bacuri between 10 and 29 of August 2019 within the embargoed areas of the farm. Hot spots were also registered in its forested area. Cattle from Fazenda Bacuri were traded onto farms supplying JBS’ slaughterhouse in Marabá until at least April 2020. Fazenda Bacuri recorded fire hotspots within its area under embargo also in August 2020 and elsewhere, despite an official ban on fires.

Fires in the Amazon in August 2019 were the worst since 2010, and the crisis was man-made. The days of 10 and 11 August 2019 – the so-called ’Day of Fire’ saw a massive coordinated wave of fires in forest and nearby landin Pará State in the Amazon. Almost half of fires hotspots registered on those two days fell within the registered boundaries of cattle ranches, many of which already had a track record of environmental crimes. One year on, just a handful of the cattle ranchers associated with the illegal burnings have been charged.