Parra postponed until December 31, 2030 the requirement to designate rural livestock producers in the state until December 31, 2030. The obligation, which also includes buffalo farming, was initially scheduled until December 31, 2025.
Governor Helder Barbalo (MDB) signed the decree extending the examination of animals last Tuesday (2), at the 64th edition of the Rural Meeting, at the headquarters of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock in Pará. The change was made official less than 15 days after the end of the UN climate change conference COP30 held in Belém.
This measure is considered one of the main policies to monitor the animal production chain and locate animals in areas suffering from deforestation. Electronic identification, through a “earring” placed on each head, is used to monitor movement during breeding, rearing, fattening and slaughter, and also extends to auctions and export.
“With the extension of these deadlines, we serve the productive sector and stimulate markets to appreciate those who produce with environmental regularity, adding value and good practices, ensuring this movement: a country that produces and a country that respects the environment,” Barbalho said while signing the decree.
In practice, this measure changed the Pará system for tracking individual cows, which was established in 2023. State legislation stipulated that the implementation phases of the system would be completed by December 2026. The Pará government did not respond to a request for an interview.
According to the National Individual Identification Scheme for Cattle and Buffalo, the state’s expectation is to control the entire herd by 2032.
Mighty Earth criticized the postponement of cattle identification. Boris Patentreger, the entity’s nature leader, said the extension represents a blow in the battle against the destruction of the Amazon forests, especially after the state capital hosted COP30.
“Any delay in tracking illegal deforestation due to livestock farming risks further forest loss and fires, pushing the Amazon closer to an irreversible tipping point where it ceases to function as a tropical forest,” he declared.
“Mighty Earth urges Pará to re-establish an ambitious and actionable timeline for livestock tracking, engage openly with civil society and indigenous communities, and ensure that no additional areas of forest are cleared for cattle ranching. The eyes of the world are once again on Pará,” he added.
The original goal of identifying the Pará herd was ambitious, said Bruno Filo, public policy coordinator at Emmaflora. For him, the postponement until 2030 responds to pressure from rural producers, who point to the challenges of putting this measure into effect.
“The reality is that there is an urgent need posed by climate change and it will be necessary to compensate for this postponement with other public policies and incentives that accelerate the sustainable transformation of livestock farming. This must be a non-negotiable commitment on the part of the government and other actors in the chain,” he said.