Thousands of animals are received at CETRAS (Wild Animal Screening and Rehabilitation Centers) throughout Brazil annually, coming from rescues, seizures or voluntary deliveries. But what happens to all these animals?
Upon arriving at CETRAS, the animal is identified according to its taxonomy, receives clinical andbehavioral evaluation, is marked and registered. If the animal is in good condition, it can be sent to a quick destination, which can be a release, as long as it takes place within 72 hours after receiving the animal or a destination for captivity, when there is no possibility of rehabilitation. Otherwise, it must be sent to quarantine, seeking a posterior destination.
According to brazilian law, the subsequent destination can be an a release or a experimental one, the second one seeks to improve release methods, both being carried out in the place where the animal was initially found, since it is a natural area of the species; population invigoration, when the animal is released where the existence of its species is known and there is an interest in increasing the number of individuals in the place; reintroduction, when the animal is released into an environment where its species has gone extinct; captivity, when the animal is not fully capable of returning to the environment; for research, education or training institutions, within an authorized project; or for temporary domestic guarding, which should only be carried out when the animal's conditions do not allow any of the other destination possibilities.
The priority for the destination of the animals must always be release, following the criteria that it is a native animal, that it has conditions to live well in the environment, being able to search for food, reproductive partners and other needs of its species. In addition, the animal that will be released must have its health tested, preventing it from taking pathogens to other animals in the environment. One of the places for releasing animals are the so-called ASAS (Wild Animal Release Areas), which are present in several states such as Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. This project takes place through partnerships between IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and state environmental agencies.
These areas need to be registered by responsible agencies and can be of four types: rehabilitation without ASAS, which provides structures for IBAMA to carry out or complete the animal rehabilitation process; the simple ones, in which the animals are released directly into the environment; those with rehabilitation, which are used in slow releases, with acclimatization of the animal in nurseries, planning future release in that location and requiring management of these animals by the tutor; and those for experimentation and reintroduction projects, where experimental releases and reintroduction are carried out. It is important to emphasize that exotic animals, which are those that do not belong to the brazilian native fauna, are not allowed to be released in the country, in any of the release modalities.
Despite the beauty and grandiosity of release, it is not always a possible reality, due to the conditions of the individual, the reality of the species or the resources available to environmental agencies, which makes captivity an important tool to make their survival possible. Animal and environment health is key to ecological balance; poorly planned or incorrectly executed release can cause countless environmental damages.
Currently, 6 types of fauna businesses are legally authorized to receive animals that need captivity: traders of live animals; scientific breeding sites for research or conservation purposes; commercial breeding sites; fauna keepers, which can be a natural or legal person, is not for profit-based and does not allow the reproduction, exhibition or transfer of animals; and zoos, including aquariums, which must be registered by a legal entity, allow public visitation and have conservation, scientific, educational, cultural and social purposes.
In all types of destinations, the participation of professionals in the area, such as veterinarians and biologists, is essential, so that all planning is carried out in the best possible way and that there is a maximum reduction of damage both for the individual and for the environment.
REFERENCES
http://www.ibama.gov.br/phocadownload/fauna/faunasilvestre/2015_ibama_in_07_2015_autorizacao_uso_fauna_empreendimentos.pdf
http://www.ief.mg.gov.br/fauna/cadastro-de-areas-de-soltura-de-animais-silvestres
https://www.in.gov.br/web/dou/-/instrucao-normativa-n-5-de-13-de-maio-de-2021-322106813