New Delhi, May 19: If tiger lovers want to make sure the big cats stay alive, the science and technology ministry is out to ensure they don’t die out.

As the Tiger Task Force met to discuss a wildlife crime prevention bureau to check poaching, science and technology minister Kapil Sibal said a laboratory being opened in July at Hyderabad’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology would help preserve any endangered species.

The Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Animal Species, being piloted by CCMB director Lalji Singh, is a result of the initiative taken by the science ministry’s department of biotechnology and the Central Zoo Authority of India.

Sibal talked about mapping the genetic diversity of tigers. He announced a plan to preserve tiger DNA as well as semen samples and said two different methods will be adopted for preserving the genetic diversity of the big cats.

The first plan involves collecting tiger scat samples for DNA fingerprinting which would give an accurate picture of the number of tigers in a forest area.

The programme is important because loss of genetic diversity could lead to extinction of the species concerned, the minister said.

Sibal said if there is enough genetic diversity, the species could be preserved. However, if there is less genetic diversity, tigers need to be brought from outside.

If it is found that there is lack of genetic diversity, a second method involving stunning the tiger and collection of sperms through electro-ejaculation will be adopted. The sperms having maximum virility will be frozen and used for artificial insemination. “In this process we don’t need cloning,” Sibal said.

By July this year, the process of collecting the scat samples will begin. Forest department workers will be trained and the project will be run jointly by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the department of biotechnology.

Earlier in the day, Tiger Task Force chairperson Sunita Narain said the members disagreed with the Centre’s proposal to set up a 285-member wildlife crime bureau at a cost of Rs 163 crore.

The task force favoured a “lean and mean” agency with committed professionals from diverse fields, she added.

“We need a lean and mean organisation with highly skilled professionals from various fields such as forest services, police force, intelligence agencies, border security and local communities to protect the big cats, especially from the highly organised network of poachers,” she said after the two-day meeting with tiger experts.