SAO PAULO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - JBS, the world's largest

meat company, has indirectly bought cattle raised illegally on

indigenous land in Brazil, according to a Greenpeace

investigation released on Thursday.

The animals allegedly bought by the beef giant were reared

originally in the Amazonian Pequizal do Naruvôtu indigenous

territory and later were "indirectly supplied JBS

meatpacking plants authorized to export to the European Union,

Asia, and the Americas," according to the activist group.

Greenpeace said the investigation found that between 2018

and 2025, farmer Mauro Fernando Schaedler transferred at least

1,238 animals from one of his farms that overlap with the

indigenous land to another property free of irregularities.

Greenpeace said that this second farm, which has a clean record,

sold animals to JBS.

Greenpeace used official transit documents to track groups

of cattle between the farms and the slaughterhouse. But, because

Brazil lacks an individual identification system for cattle, it

is virtually impossible to know exactly which animals were

transferred where.

In a statement, JBS said that Greenpeace had failed to

demonstrate that the cattle allegedly raised irregularly had

reached its slaughterhouses, and that all of its purchases were

made according to strict policies for responsible sourcing of

raw materials.

Still, JBS added that the company had blocked the farm

mentioned in Greenpeace's investigation and demanded

explanations from the farmer.

Representatives for both farms did not immediately return

comment requests.

The practice of moving cattle from an irregular property to

another with a clean record is known as "cattle laundering,"

because it helps hide the origin of the animal, Greenpeace said.