In July 2013, Russian nature conservation legislation was significantly amended, and experts can already sum up the first results of these innovations. Those poaching, selling and smuggling rare animal species, including Amur tigers and Far Eastern (Amur) leopards, now face prison terms of up to seven years.

Moreover, poachers will be punished more severely for encroaching upon the animal world. From now on, fines will be raised several times over, and the hunting weapons of poachers will be confiscated. Violators will be deprived of their hunting rights for a period of between 12 months and three years.

The deprivation of hunting rights is an effective poaching prevention measure. Violators will be deprived of their hunting certificates in line with court verdicts. This will serve as legal grounds for confiscating their weapons until the statute of limitations expires. Therefore, fewer armed poachers would roam the forests. The courts are already using this legal provision to punish numerous poachers.

Law enforcement agencies and game wardens will not act leniently towards poachers, who will be held accountable for hunting regulations violations, regardless of their official positions and social status. This is extremely necessary to preserve the biodiversity of Amur tiger habitats and those of other rare animal species.