Ban on live animal maritime exports
Court Decision
Blocked
April 25, 2023
Summary
On 25 April 2023, Judge Djalma Moreira Gomes of the 25ª Vara Cível Federal de São Paulo (25th Federal Civil Court, São Paulo Section, under the 3rd Regional Federal Court / TRF-3) issued a merits judgment (sentença) in an ação civil pública filed by Fórum Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Animal against the União (Federal Government of Brazil), declaring the maritime export of live animals for slaughter from all Brazilian ports incompatible with Brazilian animal protection norms and ordering its prohibition at all ports (“todos os portos do país”). The decision characterised animals as “seres sencientes” and found that their maritime export for slaughter violates applicable Brazilian legal protections including Lei de Crimes Ambientais (Law 9.605/1998) and Decree 24.645/1934. The ruling also noted that the sentença itself would not produce immediate operative effects pending collegial review by the TRF-3, due to an existing suspension order in Suspensão de Liminar nº 5001511-93.2018.4.03.0000 issued by TRF-3 President Cecília Marcondes in February 2018. Live exports continued after April 2023 under the existing suspension framework. The União and interested industry parties appealed. On 19 February 2025, the 3ª Turma (Third Panel) of TRF-3 unanimously overturned the first-instance prohibition, ruling that the export of live animals for slaughter does not violate Brazilian law, finding no explicit statutory prohibition and no concrete evidence that maritime transport is inherently unlawful. The 2023 first-instance ruling therefore never entered into operative effect and was reversed on appeal.
The case originated in December 2017 when Fórum Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Animal filed the underlying ação civil pública; Judge Gomes had previously issued a preliminary injunction in February 2018 suspending live cattle exports from all Brazilian ports, which was suspended within days by TRF-3’s President, allowing exports to continue pending final judgment.
Background Context
Before the 2023 ruling, Brazil exported cattle and other animals by sea from ports including Santos (São Paulo) and Barcarena/Vila do Conde (Pará). Live animal export had been treated as a lawful activity; the Advocacia-Geral da União (AGU) publicly confirmed its legality in 2019 (Processo nº 5001511-93.2018.4.03.0000 – TRF-3). The Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil (CNA) had separately challenged a Santos municipal law restricting live animal transport, which the STF annulled in October 2018. NGOs including Animals Australia, Fórum Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Animal, and international advocacy groups documented conditions on Brazilian live export vessels, including heat stress, injuries, and animal mortality during shipments. The case proceeded through evidentiary stages from 2018 to 2023 before producing the April 2023 merits judgment. Brazil is among the major live cattle exporters in South America, with primary maritime export destinations in the Middle East.
System Impact
Direction
Neutral / Administrative
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
Low
Judge Gomes issued the merits sentença on 25 April 2023, declaring maritime live export of animals for slaughter incompatible with Brazilian law and ordering its prohibition at all Brazilian ports. The judgment explicitly stated that its effects were suspended pending TRF-3 collegial review due to the existing 2018 suspension order. Media coverage in April–May 2023 initially described the ruling as a ban on live cattle exports; subsequent clarifications from the Justiça Federal and NGO representatives confirmed the decision was not in operative effect. Live exports continued post-April 2023. The União and industry parties appealed to TRF-3. On 19 February 2025, TRF-3’s 3ª Turma unanimously reversed the first-instance prohibition, finding that live animal exports do not violate Brazilian law and that no concrete evidence demonstrated that maritime transport is inherently unlawful. As of the latest available sources, live exports from Brazilian ports continue under the existing legal framework. The 2023 ruling forms part of a legal sequence beginning with the December 2017 ação civil pública filing and the February 2018 preliminary injunction (suspended within days by TRF-3’s President).
Anticipated Effects
If Fórum Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Animal pursues further appeals to the Superior Tribunal de Justiça (STJ) or Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), the question of whether Brazilian animal protection statutes prohibit maritime live export for slaughter could be re-examined at higher judicial levels.
Whether the TRF-3 2025 ruling definitively settles the legal question of live export legality in Brazil — or whether further appellate proceedings might revive a prohibition — is not established in available sources as of the latest reporting.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Neutral / Administrative (impact direction) because the decision never entered into operative effect: its own text suspended implementation pending TRF-3 review, and the appellate court unanimously overturned the prohibition in February 2025. No documented contraction in Brazilian live animal exports is attributable to this ruling; exports continued throughout the period under the prior suspension framework.
Assigned Alters Legal Basis (impact type) because the first-instance judgment reinterpreted existing Brazilian animal protection statutes to declare maritime live export for slaughter unlawful — seeking to change the legal basis for the activity. The mechanism is legal reinterpretation even though the ruling was not implemented and was subsequently overturned.
Assigned Low significance because the decision did not enter into force, was explicitly self-suspended at issuance pending appellate review, and was unanimously overturned by TRF-3 in 2025. No measurable change in system behaviour, export volumes, or animal numbers is documented. This is the first Blocked-status record in the database.
Impact direction is Neutral / Administrative; the trajectory sentence is not applicable.
Key Actors
Judge Djalma Moreira Gomes of the 25ª Vara Cível Federal de São Paulo issued the 2023 sentença and the 2018 preliminary injunction. TRF-3 President Cecília Marcondes suspended the 2018 injunction. TRF-3’s 3ª Turma unanimously reversed the 2023 ruling in February 2025. Fórum Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Animal (plaintiff) filed the underlying ação civil pública in December 2017; legal director Ana Paula Vasconcelos publicly commented on the case. The União (Federal Government) was the primary defendant; AGU confirmed live export legality in 2019. CNA (Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil) represented industry interests. Animals Australia and international advocacy organisations documented the case.
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