Thursday, April 28 2005 11:26 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: US lawmakers and funding agencies, such as Save The Tiger Fund, have decided to launch a bipartisan effort to examine reasons for the decline of India's wild tiger population.

During a hearing on Tuesday (Apr 26, 2005) on re-authorisation of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Democrat Congressman Frank Pallone pointed to recent reports about potential corruption and scandal in international efforts to conserve tigers in India.

Pallone received commitments from John Berry, Executive Director of the Foundation, and Matt Hogan, Acting Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, to investigate the problem, characterising it as serious, and report their results back to the subcommittee.

"Virtually overnight, the status of the world's tiger populations and the protection of tiger habitats have become uncertain. The tiger is a vital symbol for the nation of India and one of the most seriously endangered large mammal populations in the world," said Pallone, also a co-founder of the Congressional India Caucus.

"Clearly, current international conservation efforts are failing, and we need to find out why before there are no more tigers in India," he added.

Pallone and Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, Chairman of the House subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans, also agreed to send a letter to Indian Ambassador to US Ronan Sen, asking India to investigate the situation and work with American agencies to restore tiger habitats.