Argentinian Emiliano Villegas, operational coordinator of the Fauna Area of the Environmental Control Brigade in the National Secretariat of Environment, will be awarded the international Clark R. Bavin award, the highest global recognition for wildlife protection. The award ceremony will take place on December 5th in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, during the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Villegas, 44, played a key role in the investigation that led to the dismantling of a network of illegal hunting and wildlife trafficking operating between Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Bolivia. The case's main accused is Jorge Noya, owner of the Caza & Safaris venture, identified as the leader of an organization dedicated to illegal hunting tourism. During a series of raids conducted in 2023, Federal Justice seized 44 firearms, 12 vehicles, and nearly 8,000 taxidermies, horns, and skins, including those of the yaguareté, a species protected by law and declared a National Natural Monument since 2001. The case gained international prominence thanks to the joint work between the Environmental Control Brigade, the Federal Prosecutor's Office No. 1 in Lomas de Zamora, and the Freeland International organization, whose director, Juliana Machado Ferreira, nominated Villegas for the award. "This recognition is the result of the entire team's work," stated Villegas. "Our mission is to protect nature and fight against the crime threatening biodiversity."
