Bolsonaro arms population despite hunting ban
In Brazil, under President Bolsonaro, more than 200 hunting licenses were issued daily, even though hunting is banned in the country.
Since the right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro became president of Brazil, more than 200 hunting licenses have been issued every day — and this despite the fact that recreational hunting is actually banned in the South American country.
193,539 hunting licenses in less than three years
The arming of the Brazilian population is one of the most important hallmarks of Bolsonarism. In two years and eight months, the authorities issued 193,539 licenses to hobby hunters. In theory, these only permit the hunting of wild boar imported from Europe.
Since Bolsonaro took office, the issuing of hunting permits has risen sharply. Between January and August of this year alone, 75,289 hunting licenses were issued — an increase of 243%. The number of licensed hobby hunters in Brazil has thus risen to 250,000.
30 weapons and 90,000 rounds of ammunition per person
Bolsonaro has pushed through a regulation allowing a hobby hunter to own up to 30 firearms, including semi-automatic rifles. Each license holder may also purchase up to 90,000 rounds of ammunition per year.
How many European wild boar exist in Brazil is unknown. The growing number of hobby hunters has not resulted in a reduction of the wild boar population in the country. On the contrary: their spread has actually increased. Rather than controlling the expansion of the wild boar, some hobby hunters are even illegally spreading wild boar throughout the country.
The low kill rates also cast doubt on whether the wild boar is the main reason for applying for a hunting license. Investigations have revealed that people are using wild boar as a pretext to arm themselves and engage in the otherwise banned sport of hunting.
«Let us imagine a day when wild boar are no longer a problem in Brazil. Will the army collect this weapon? In other words: Brazil is creating situations that are very difficult to reverse», says Ivan Marques, member of the Brazilian Forum for Public Security.
