The Federal Police (PF) reported on Wednesday (3) that they are investigating the spread of a potentially fatal virus affecting the Spix’s Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), one of the rarest birds in the world.
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The bird’s preservation is the subject of a dispute between private breeders and Brazilian authorities.
This species was declared extinct in the wild 25 years ago. In 2020, about 20 Spix’s parrots were brought from Germany to be reintroduced to their natural habitat, in Caatinga in northeastern Brazil.
Last week, the Brazilian Institute for Biodiversity and Environment (ICMBio) reported that the remaining 11 parrots among those released into the wild had tested positive for Circovirus, which can be fatal and has no cure.
The disease causes beak deformity, feather discoloration, and feather defects, but it does not affect humans or poultry.
Authorities identified a further 20 cases in samples living in captivity, but warned that interpreting the tests was “not easy”. The breeding facility responsible for the infected animals, located in Curaca, Bahia, was fined R$1.8 million for failing to implement biosafety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.
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The National Front stated that it confiscated mobile phones and computers from this center as part of Operation Blue Hope, and indicated that those investigated may be responsible for crimes of obstructing environmental inspection and spreading a disease capable of harming animals.
The breeding site has resisted reclaiming Spix’s parrots freely, violating an October court order. The center told AFP that only five birds out of 103 in its care had tested positive for the virus, and denied allegations of neglect. He also highlighted that Spix’s parrots are “particularly resistant to circoviruses”.
The breeding facility is a partner of the Association for the Conservation of Endangered Parrots (ACTP), based in Germany, which controls 75% of the world’s registered Spix’s parrots, according to ICMBio. In 2024, the Brazilian government terminated its agreement with this entity after it sold, without its consent, 26 of these birds to a zoo in India.
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Samples brought to Brazil tested positive for the deadly virus