The outcry has been long and loud after cops busted a gang of poachers in Brazil, a member of which is believed to have killed more than 1,000 protected jaguars.
According to reports, dentist Temistocles Barbosa Freire is the most prolific of a group of seven men arrested on suspicion of killing thousands of endangered animals.
The Daily Mirror claim Freire is believed to have shot over 1,000 jaguars since 1987, with his group also hunting protected species such as capybara, collared peccary and red brocket deer.
Dentist..accused of illegally killing > 1000 jaguars as part of illegal poach’g gang that has been opera’g in Brazil
Gang of poachers busted in Brazil amid claims it..killed 1000 jaguars
Dentist, TemistoclesBarbosaFreire, is said2Bthe most active of..gang.https://t.co/q4NRGnLUjg pic.twitter.com/vWhWN6rAL9— NoAnimalPoaching! (@NoAnimalPoachin) July 9, 2019
Images of Freire have now surfaced, in which he can be seen carrying a dead jaguar over his shoulders while a pack of dogs trail his heels.
Sources say Brazilian authorities were able to arrest the gang after having hacked and tracked their conversations and movements for the past three months.
Dentist, Temistocles Barbosa Freire, is accused of illegally killing more than a thousand jaguars https://t.co/v53wXm2wff via @MailOnline
— Earth Network (@EarthNetworkNew) July 9, 2019
The name of the thug is Temistocles Barbosa Freire, a dentist who is believed to have illegally killed over 1,000… https://t.co/Nn2ErV97wM
— D.Karagiannakis (@D_Karagiannakis) July 9, 2019
Seven men were arrested and now face criminal charges of illegal hunting and use of a firearm.
As per the Mirror, during the three months they were being monitored by the police, the gang killed as many as eight jaguars, 13 capybaras, 10 collared peccaries and two deer.
It’s said the group were able to lure jaguars towards their guns by using a high-pitched Brazilian drum. The men could face prison sentences and fines if found guilty, depending on their participation in the crimes.
What a sick and twisted world we live in. To think that an animal as majestic and proud as the jaguar has been shot for sport by these men … it makes my blood boil.
All of the creatures we share this Earth with have a right to live. Share this article if you agree!