Preserve Brazil’s Jaguar Population

By Chelsea Cooley

Target: Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil

Goal: Prevent farming, ranching, and hunting from threatening the jaguar population of Brazil

Jaguar hunting is prominent among Brazilian ranchers, who fear the big cats will eat their livestock. Ranchers and soybean farmers are expanding in the jaguar habitats of Brazil’s central savannah, endangering the animal and simultaneously insisting that it is a nuisance to their livelihood. Half of all jaguars in the Americas live in Brazil.

Jaguars are nocturnal, extremely private animals. They can run at speeds up to 35 mph, and they are excellent swimmers. These predators require a large hunting range, and they are known to travel up to 30 miles every day.

Although jaguar hunting is illegal in Brazil, the rule is poorly regulated and most ranchers do not hesitate to kill the cats when they fear for the lives of their livestock. The Brazilian Institute of the Environment attempts to monitor and protect these animals, but their population is still threatened. Alongside hunting, deforestation diminishes jaguar habitats and populations.

Ask Brazil’s president to preserve jaguar habitats from encroaching farmers and ranchers, and to inflict harsher punishments on jaguar poachers.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Ms. Rousseff,

The jaguar population of Brazil is threatened by both hunting and encroaching farm and ranch land. A once prosperous species, jaguars are now virtually extinct from certain forests where they once lived and threatened in others.

Jaguars require a large range for hunting and are known to travel up to 30 miles per day. By allowing farmers and ranchers to develop the rainforest and then kill jaguars who enter their farms, Brazilian leaders further endanger the animal’s population. The Brazilian Institute of the Environment (IBAMA) attempts to monitor and protect these animals, but so far they have not prevented jaguar species loss. Moreover, the hunting of jaguars is poorly regulated in Brazil, especially among farmers who claim the cats are a nuisance.

Jaguars are beautiful, private creatures. These nocturnal cats run swiftly, and they are excellent swimmers. They are the pride of animal lovers in countries lucky enough to host them. Home to half of all the jaguars in the Americas, Brazil has a responsibility to protect these creatures. I encourage you to amend this issue at its root by creating more jaguar reserves in Brazil, on which farmers and ranchers will not be allowed. I also encourage you to crack down on jaguar hunters and poachers with stricter penalties and more enforcement.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Cburnett via Wikimedia