Federal and state environmental police on Tuesday seized 55 wild birds that were irregularly kept at the home of former Justice Minister Anderson Torres in Brasília.
Mr. Torres briefly served as Brasília’s top security official during the January 8 riots and is currently in jail for allowing the storming of government buildings.
In a statement to The Brazilian Report, federal environmental agency Ibama said that in November 2022, during an inspection at an amateur breeding center in Brasília, environmental agents found a bird marked with a ring that, according to the system, should have been the responsibility of the then-minister.
An investigation later revealed that Mr. Torres had transferred all the breeding stock he owned to his mother, and that this exceeded the transfer limit established for amateur breeders. Both reported the same address in their respective breeding records, also shared by a commercial breeder. The practice is prohibited by law.
The birds seized include 45 great-billed seed finches, four chestnut-bellied seed finches, three saffron finches, two Brazilian tanagers, and one ultramarine grosbeak.
Mr. Torres was also fined BRL 52,500 (USD 10,400) for providing false information to environmental authorities, and an additional BRL 2,000 (USD 369) for mutilating a bird.
A short video recorded by local environmental agency Ibram shows around 20 cages where the birds were kept.
In January, after Mr. Torres turned himself in, the Federal Police found the draft of a putschist decree in his home in Brasília. The draft, albeit unconstitutional, aimed at giving Mr. Bolsonaro powers to overturn the election.
Although the draft was never used, Mr. Bolsonaro did say just before leaving office that he “did all he could” to revert the electoral results “within the four lines of the Constitution.”
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