In Bolivia, South America; Elephant tusks are been replaced by Jaguars fangs and claws -

Delicate:
Until now The General Directorate of Biodiversity and Protected Areas (DGBAP) has collaborated with the justice to investigate individual cases but has not been made public statements on the existence of a network of illegal trafficking of Chinese origin, as reported by Biologist conservationist Angela Nuñez and other environmentalists.

BBC World tried to speak with officials of that portfolio but, according to a spokeswoman, cannot give information without the authorization of the Ministry.

What is certain is that it is an extremely delicate and some believe that the Bolivian government seeks to prevent the matter cause a diplomatic friction with China.

Angela Nuñez: There are the 16 shipments of tusks of the jaguar - with a total of about 300 pieces - which were seized by the Bolivian mail and the authorities of the country since 2014.

"All these shipments were destined to China. And 14 of them were sent by Chinese citizens working in Bolivia," said Núñez.

Environmentalists and lovers of the jaguar expressed alarm at this new threat.

Although the 140 Jaguars dead represent a small fraction of the 4,000 to 7,000 copies which is estimated to live in the country, the fact is that this figure is conservative.

It is known that for each shipment seized there is another or others who were able to reach the destination successfully.

Nunez considers that the illegal Chinese of fangs and claws of Jaguar has become the number one threat facing that animal.

Now the farmers, who have already used the excuse of protecting their livestock, have an economic incentive to kill them", he said.

But what the state is doing to stop the problem?

After all, the hunting of wild animals is prohibited in Bolivia since 1997.