Illegal hunting and fishing in Brazil: a study based on data provided by environmental military police

Abstract

Illegal hunting and fishing activities are of great relevance to conservation policies. Few studies with regional focus of the impacts of these activities in Brazil are available. The aim of this study was to characterize illegal hunting and fishing on a national level by collecting data from the environmental police. We analyzed reports prepared by 16 states, all of them which contained a variety of information about seized species, and showed a lack of standardization of data collection and presentation. Illegal fish seizures were predominantly of Amazonian species. Illegal hunting seizures showed the most uniform territorial distribution. Armadillos (Dasypodidae family), pacas (Cuniculus paca), and capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) were the most frequently seized species, and numerous seizures of Brazilian guinea pig (Cavia aperea) were reported in northeastern Brazil. The reports provided by environmental military police have great informative power for conservation policies, but they must be standardized among states to improve the quality of data provided and analysis.