Brazil targets illegal cattle grazing in Amazon rainforest

The government of Brazil seized thousands of cattle grazing on public land in the Amazon rainforest as part of a crackdown on illegal logging, the environment minister said Tuesday.

Carlos Minc said that on June 7 authorities seized 3,100 head of cattle grazingon a ranch illegally located within a nature preserve in the Amazon state of Para.

Another rancher had been warned on Tuesday that he had two weeks to remove 10,000 cattle from public land in the Amazon state of Rondonia or risk having them seized, Minc said.

"The easy times are over. Those who don't respect [the law] will have their cattle transformed into barbecue for Zero Hunger," Minc told reporters in the capital, Brasilia. Zero Hunger is a government program that provides food money for the poor.

The cattle should go to auction within three weeks, barring legal appeals from the ranchers, Minc said. The proceeds will go both to Zero Hunger and also to fund health services for Amazon aboriginal people.

The crackdown on cattle ranchingis only the latest operation to focus on profits from illegally cutting down rainforest. In May, Brazil's environmental protection agency seized 4,300 tonnes of grain, mostly soy and corn, grown on illegally deforested land.

After three years of decline, Amazon deforestation appears to be accelerating again as international demand for agricultural products skyrockets.

Cattle pasture already covers 7.8 percent of Brazil's Amazon region, where the 73 million cows outnumber humans by aboutthree to one.

The creation of grazing land for cattle is the biggest driver of Amazon deforestation.