Zoo animals are being stolen from parks in western Venezuela and police believe they are being snatched to be eaten by the starving local population.

A wave of animal thefts in city of Maracaibo near the Colombian border - including tapirs and a buffalo - have been linked to the chronic food shortages in Venezuela

Most recently, two collared peccaries, similar in appearance to boars, were stolen over the weekend, local police say.

Dinner: Animals of ten species, including collared peccaries, tapirs (pictured) and a buffalo, have been stolen from the Zulia Metropolitan Zoological Park in Maracaibo

The head of the Zulia Metropolitan Zoological Park in Maricabo said thefts in recent weeks had affected ten species. 

'What we presume is that they (were taken) with the intention of eating them,' Luis Morales, an official for the Zulia division of the National Police, told reporters on Tuesday. 

The chaotic collapse of the country's socialist economic model has created chronic food shortages that have fuelled malnutrition and left millions seeking food anywhere they can find it, including in trash cans and dumpsters.

President Nicolas Maduro blames food shortages on opposition protests that have blocked streets and highways and a broader 'economic war' led by adversaries with the help of Washington.

REST WITH PICS