{"id":11741,"date":"2021-10-19T15:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T14:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/project\/operation-jaguar\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T13:16:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T12:16:30","slug":"operation-jaguar","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/en\/project\/operation-jaguar\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Jaguar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Patrick Meier<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Driven by the Asian market<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Infrastructure developments and the influx of Chinese companies in recent years have been indirect drivers of the sharp increase in the jaguar trade. Previously inaccessible wilderness has been opened up and a new market interested in the jaguar was created: the trade in jaguars. Although there is also a domestic market for jaguar products, the demand for the animal’s fangs and bones has been driven by the Asian market.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u2018American tiger\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Jaguar fangs are sold as substitutes for tiger fangs because of their large size. The difference is virtually indiscernible. To add to the confusion, in China jaguars are called ‘American tigers’. The reduced availability of tiger parts in Asia, combined with increasing demand in East and Southeast Asia and the growing Chinese presence in Latin America, appear to have created the perfect storm, resulting in a surge in the trade in jaguar products to China.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The fight against wildlife crime is in its infancy<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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At the same time, the fight against wildlife crime in South America is in its infancy. According to the latest figures, there are just 40 forest rangers in the whole of Suriname to protect wild animals, and in Bolivia \u2013 a country 25 times the size of the Netherlands \u2013 there are just 50 to cover the entire country. And when an arrest is made, the law does not provide adequate guidelines for an appropriate conviction. Therefore, poachers and illegal traders have free rein.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Want to know more about what we are doing to put an end to wildlife crime? Read our page on fighting wildlife<\/span> crime<\/a>.<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A vital link in the ecosystem<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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As a predator at the top of the food chain, the jaguar is a vital link in the ecosystem. With Operation Jaguar we are doing our utmost to put an end to poaching and the illegal trade in jaguars. Operation Jaguar is a collaboration involving IUCN NL, IFAW and Earth League International, and is made possible thanks to the Nationale Postcode Loterij.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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How did we combat jaguar poaching with Operation Jaguar?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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