In the land of the Amazon, the Pantanal, the Mata Atlântica and other vast areas of wildlife, animal trafficking is a serious problem. Minas Gerais, in the south central region of Brazil, is a state with a particularly number of wild animals forced into capitivity. This year alone, seven thousand wild animals in captivity have been recovered there.

Ibama, o Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), is responsible for dealing with all matters involving wildlife, especially animal trafficking. Once an animal is recovered, it is brought to the Ibama Rescue Station in Belo Horizonte, where it is housed, treated, and eventually released into the wild.  At present, there are three hundred animals at the center awaiting release. Of these, ninety percent are birds, including parrots and tucans, while the other ten precent include monkeys, snakes, turtles and iguanas.

However, sometimes owners of these illegal pets go to court, and either pay a fine or plead before a judge to have their beloved animal back. Though it doesn’t happen all the time, Ibama is opposed to this policy, fearing that more and more people will purchase or capture wild animals to make them pets.