©Reuters. A Lear’s Macaw is spotted after members of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) rescued it in Africa and brought it back to Brazil, at Sao Paulo International Airport, in Guarulhos, Brazil , on 26 February 20
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By Ricardo Brito and Leonardo Benassatto
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian federal police and the environmental protection agency Ibama have repatriated native parrots and monkeys suspected of having been illegally trafficked to Togo, the Brazilian government said.
The animals returned to Brazil over the weekend, federal police said in a statement Monday.
The operation, supported by several countries, identified 12 parrots Lear (NYSE:) and 17 golden lion tamarins on Feb. 12 in Togo’s capital, Lomé. The animals had crossed the Atlantic on a sailboat flying the Brazilian flag.
Four men – a Uruguayan, a Surinamese, a Brazilian and a Togolese – were arrested by authorities in Togo when the boat ran into trouble off the coast and was boarded by local police.
Each macaw, according to sources involved in the investigation, is worth between 60,000 and 100,000 dollars on the clandestine markets; tamarins cost $15,000 each.
The animals are in poor condition because they were mistreated and their cages were covered in motor oil, said Ibama coordinator for the management of fauna and aquatic biodiversity, Juliana Junqueira.
“They suffered a lot. Their condition was deplorable. So we will have to do more thorough rehabilitation, but our goal is to bring them back to freedom,” he said.