BRAZIL — A judge in the Brazilian state of Rondonia found two cattle slaughterhouses guilty of buying cattle from a protected area of ​​former rainforest in the Amazon and ordered them, along with three cattle ranchers, to pay a total of $764,000 for causing environmental damage, according to a ruling issued Wednesday. Cattle ranching is fueling deforestation in the Amazon. Distriboi and Frigon and the ranchers can appeal.

It is the first decision in dozens of lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in compensation for environmental damage caused by slaughterhouses that allegedly traded cattle raised illegally in a protected area known as Jaci-Parana, which was previously rainforest but is now mostly converted to pasture.

The four slaughterhouses are among a number of defendants, including JBS SA, which bills itself as the world’s largest protein producer. The court has not yet ruled on the JBS cases.

Brazilian law prohibits commercial cattle ranching in the protected area, but some 210,000 head are grazed in Jaci-Parana, according to the state’s animal department. With nearly 80 percent of its forest destroyed, it is the most devastated conservation unit in the Brazilian Amazon. A court estimated the damage to the reserve at about $1 billion.

The lawsuits are based on transfer documents first reported by The Associated Press that show cattle going directly from protected areas to slaughterhouses, documents filled out by the illegal farmers themselves.

Part of the decision is a collective $453,000 fine imposed on five defendants who are connected to one farm. The money will be used to reforest 232 hectares (573 acres) of what is now pasture.

“When a slaughterhouse, whether through negligence or intentionally, buys and resells products from invaded and illegally deforested reserves, it is clear that it directly benefits from these illegal activities,” according to part of the original complaint, which Judge Inês Moreira da Costa upheld in her ruling. “In such cases, there is an undeniable link between the company’s actions and the environmental damage caused by the illegal exploitation.”

Frigon and Distriboi did not respond to questions sent by email. In the letter, Frigon argued that the state of Rondonia allowed farmers to sell cattle and said there was no link between buying beef cattle and deforestation. In the letter, Distriboi also denied any wrongdoing.

JBS also did not respond to a request for comment.

Rondonia, on the border with Bolivia, is the most deforested state in the Brazilian Amazon. In the past few weeks, most cities have been covered in thick smoke from forest fires, a sign of rampant deforestation. The situation is so serious that the main airport in Porto Velho has been closed for seven days straight.

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