Conservationists welcomed an Indian government plan to create eight new reserves to protect the country's dwindling tiger population, and called today for more action to prevent illegal trading in tiger parts.
It will take five years to set up the new reserves, which will cover an area of more than 11,900 square miles (31,000 sq km) at a cost to taxpayers of 6 billion rupees (£78.3 million), the government's Tiger Project said. Private groups will also contribute funds.
The aim of the reserves is to protect the existing tiger population and stamp out poaching, said Tiger Project secretary Rajesh Gopal.
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"The (government) assessment shows that though the tiger has suffered due to poaching, loss of quality habitat and loss of its prey, there is still hope," he said in a statement.
New estimates suggest that India's wild tiger population has dropped from nearly 3,600 five years ago to about 1,411, the Tiger Project said.
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