Laws against hunting animals listed in the Red Book will be stiffened, Russia's deputy natural resources minister said on Tuesday.
"The toughening of the criminal and administrative responsibility for violating the security regime of natural reserves and for poaching is part of the ministry's legislative initiatives," Igor Maidanov said at a RIA Novosti press conference.
WWF Russia Director Igor Chestin called for tougher penalties for poachers.
Under current legislation, the maximum fine for keeping, trading or transporting body parts of endangered species, including endangered tiger skins, is 1,000 rubles ($32).
Maidanov agreed the fines were low but said he hoped they would be raised in the near future.
With a rich diversity of habitat, Russia is home to hundreds of endangered species.
The Red Book, also known as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
Last week, investigators launched an inquiry against a woman in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, who had been illegally keeping an Amur tiger, one of Russia's most endangered species, as a pet. She faces a fine of only 2,500 rubles ($80).
There are only 450 Amur tigers left in the wild in Russia's Far East.
The tiger population has declined from 100,000 to just over 3,000 over the past century.
An international forum on the protection of the tiger will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, later this month.
MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti)
