Article 8 of the Constitution provides for legal concern about animals.(See, VII. of Paragraph 1.)
TITLE Vlll - THE SOCIAL ORDER
CHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISION
Article 193. The social order is based in the primacy of work and aimed at social well-being and justice.
CHAPTER VI - ENVIRONMENT
Article 225. All have the right to an ecologically balanced environment. which is an asset of common use and essential to a healthy quality of life, and both the Government and the community shall have the duty to defend and preserve it for present and future generations.
Paragraph 1 - In order to ensure the effectiveness of this right, it is incumbent upon the Government to:
I. preserve and restore the essential ecological processes and provide for the ecological treatment of species and ecosystems;
II. preserve the diversity and integrity of the genetic patrimony of the country and to control entities engaged in research and manipulation of genetic material:
III. define, in all units of the Federation, territorial spaces and their components which are to receive special protection. any alterations and suppressions being allowed only by means of law, and any use which may harm the integrity of the attributes which justify their protection being forbidden:
IV. demand. in the manner prescribed by law, for the installation of works and activities which may potentially cause significant degradation of the environment, a prior environmental impact study, which shall be made public;
V. control the production, sale and use of techniques, methods or substances which represent a risk to life, the quality of life and the environment;
VI. promote environment education in all school levels and public awareness of the need to preserve the environment;
VII. protect the fauna and the flora, with prohibition, in the manner prescribed by law, of all practices which represent a risk to their ecological function, cause the extinction of species or subject animals to cruelty.
Paragraph 2 - Those who exploit mineral resources shall be required to restore the degraded environment, in accordance with the technical solutions demanded by the competent public agency, as provided by law.
Paragraph 3 - Procedures and activities considered as harmful to the environment shall subject the infractors, be they individuals or legal entities, to penal and administrative sanctions, without prejudice to the obligation to repair the damages caused.
Paragraph 4 - The Brazilian Amazonian Forest, the Atlantic Forest, the Serra do Mar, the Pantanal Mato-Grossense and the coastal zone are part of the national patrimony, and they shall be used, as provided by law, under conditions which ensure the preservation of the environment, therein included the use of mineral resources.
Paragraph 5 - The unoccupied lands or lands seized by the states through discriminatory actions which are necessary to protect the natural ecosystems are inalienable.
Paragraph 6 - Power plants operated by nuclear reactor shall have their location defined in federal law and may not otherwise be installed.