Illegal jaguar trade continues across Latin America, investigation reveals

From the report

The illegal trade in jaguars continues across Latin America, with skins sold in markets, fangs turned into jewelry, and bones processed into paste for high-value buyers. An investigation spanning seven countries has found that much of the trade operates on a small scale and serves local customers, while evidence from Peru and Suriname points to connections with international wildlife trafficking networks.

Between 2023 and 2025, the Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) investigated illegal jaguar trading in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Panama, Peru, and Suriname. Its findings, shared with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), indicate that transactions are often informal and occasional, although some investigations uncovered networks dealing in multiple wildlife species.

The report, titled The Illegal Jaguar Trade in Latin America: An Updated Picture, offers a more nuanced view of the market than concerns raised in the early 2010s about an expanding international trade in jaguar parts destined for China. While the latest findings suggest that local buyers account for a substantial share of demand, they do not rule out continuing international trafficking.