The federal government will constantly monitor the issue of increasing the number of Amur tigers, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Ivanov said on October 9 at a meeting on the implementation of presidential instructions to preserve the population of the Amur tiger and Far Eastern leopard.

Mr Ivanov said that during the Tiger Summit in 2010, an objective was set to double the number of these animals in the world by the next summit in 2022. "As of today, there are 450 to 500 Amur tigers in Russia. You can easily calculate what needs to be done by 2022. I assure you that the President will monitor this issue personally," Mr Ivanov said.

The Chief of Staff also called for a further improvement of hunting legislation and preservation of rare cats' habitats. According to Mr Ivanov, the decisions adopted in the past few years have led to a significant decrease in illegal hunting and trafficking of endangered species of animals.

Sergei Ivanov also said that the new federal law replaces administrative liability with criminal liability, increases fines for harming rare animals and significantly expands the powers of hunting inspectors. "I think we need to continue improving the legislation with regard to hunting control, preservation and revival of wild cats' habitats. All these measures are essential for reviving the tiger population," Mr Ivanov said.