Smoke from fires in Apyterewa Indigenous territory, in Pará state, Brazil (Image: Cícero Pedrosa Neto/Global Witness)
Brazilian meatpacking company JBS illegally farmed 8,000 cows on Apyterewa Indigenous territory in Brazil between 2018 and 2013, according to the Center for Climate Crime Analysis.
Brazilian laws ban commercial cattle ranching in indigenous territories by non-indigenous people.
But the Parakanã people who live on the land said territory conflicts had led to one of their villages being burnt to the ground and the attempted shooting of an indigenous community member. Vital biodiverse ecosystems essential for their food, livelihoods and traditions had also been destroyed.
Mama Parakanã, chief of the Apyterewa indigenous village, said: “They destroyed everything. All we have left is grass. Our animals burned to death.”
Mama Parakanã, chief of Apyterewa Indigenous village and a leader fighting invasions in Apyterewa (Image: Cícero Pedrosa Neto/Global Witness)
New research commissioned by environmental group Global Witness found Barclays was JBS’s highest earning creditor over the five years of illegal farming, earning £1.3 billion ($1.7bn).
Other major banks and asset managers also earned handsomely, with the Royal Bank of Canada making £820 million ($1.1bn) and Santander £112m ($150m).
Koxawewoxa Parakanã, a tribe leader and vice-president of Tato’a Indigenous Association said: “White people are selling meat to the whole world, but it is our land that they are destroying. We want them to give back that money that they’ve made.”
The Apyterewa territory in northern Brazil’s Pará state has seen more deforestation than any other indigenous territory in recent years in the Brazilian Amazon.
Koxawewoxa Parakanã, vice-president of Tato’a Indigenous Association and a Parakanã leader (Image: Cícero Pedrosa Neto/Global Witness)
Despite legal protections, cattle ranchers persistently invade the lands, which is home to 2,500 people across 51 villages.
The Apyterewa land invaders were evicted in October 2023 but Global Witness says deforestation and illegal occupations are still ongoing.
Tatuaro Parakanã, chief of Caeté village, said land grabbers razed areas his tribe used for hunting and collecting nuts.
He fled for safety along with several families last year, and when he returned he found his home had been reduced to ash.
He added: “All we want is going back home.”
Human activity has also caused an increase in fires in the Apyterewa part of the Amazon.
A Parakanã boy stands over a charred snake carcass, in Pará state (Image: Cícero Pedrosa Neto/Global Witness)
Alexandria Reid, Global Witness’ campaign strategy lead, said: “These findings lay bare how a seemingly routine deal made in New York or London can be linked to the preventable but devastating invasion of indigenous lands.”
CCCA data shows 561 cows were sourced by JBS directly from illegal farms within the Apyterewa territory – while 7,234 cows were part of JBS’s indirect supply chain.
JBS refused to comment.
Barclays said it has not financed JBS’s Brazil’s operations since 2021, and its policies were “updated in April 2023 to include restrictions on beef production and primary processing in high deforestation risk countries in South America”.
The bank, however, did not comment on its financing of the company’s global operations, for “confidentiality reasons”.
Global Witness claims Barclays’s ties to JBS persist, as a loophole in the bank’s policy allows it to continue finance the company’s subsidiaries, including in the US.
Santander said it did not comment on individual cases but it “constantly seeks to eliminate or minimise possible social and environmental impacts of our financing”.