Federal Police Launch 'Blue Hope' Raids in Circovirus Probe of Reintroduced Spix's Macaws

Overview

• Police executed search-and-seizure warrants in Curaçá, Bahia, and Brasília, seizing birds and electronic devices for the investigation.
• Authorities say the facility resisted emergency measures ordered by ICMBio, including sanitary isolation, serial testing and the recollection of free-ranging birds.
• Potential charges include dissemination of disease harmful to wildlife, killing wild animals and obstructing environmental inspection, with combined prison terms of up to eight years.
• ICMBio previously imposed an administrative fine of about R$1.8 million after inspections cited dirty feeders and lack of protective gear, and it reported 11 positives among recaptured wild birds with a total later stated as 31 infected.
• The criadouro denies negligence, contests the fine and methodology, says 98 of 103 macaws tested negative with five detections on some assays, and claims it has not received the full technical report.