Cattle raising is the main driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, with 90% of the area cleared between 1985 and 2023 converted to pasture. That represents 227,800 square miles, slightly larger than France. As a result, 14% of the Amazon is covered by grazing land, according to MapBiomas, a network of nongovernmental organizations that monitor land use.

“We are inspecting the production chain to hold offenders accountable for acquiring products from deforestation and to ensure that crime does not pay,” Jair Schmitt, chief of environmental protection at Brazil’s federal environmental agency, known as Ibama, told The Associated Press.