Bolsonaro’s easing of gun control fueled illegal hunting, study indicates
Brazil’s gun boom reached the forest, where native wildlife became targets too.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's promise to arm every citizen during his 2018 campaign came to fruition in May 2020, as he demanded his ministers sign a decree raising the limit on civilian ammunition purchases. Bolsonaro's pro-gun agenda directly influenced illegal wildlife hunting, according to data from nonprofit institutes Igarapé and Sou da Paz.
Between 2019 and 2022, the number of guns in private collections held by civilians and military personnel nearly doubled to 3 million, up from just over 1.3 million in 2018. In 2018, 59,000 weapons, known as CACs (hunters, sport shooters, and collectors), were purchased. By 2022, that figure had increased to 430,000.
Written by urgent.news from Mongabay's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
