MNA � A member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) told MNA on Mon. that despite all efforts, the conservation of the Asiatic cheetah project in Iran has practically failed.


Mohammad Sadegh Farhadinia, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), told Mehr News correspondent that the number of the endangered species of Asiatic Cheetah in Iran seems to have dropped compared to the time before the conservation of the�Asiatic cheetah project went underway.

�This means that the policy of conservation of cheetahs� habitat has not been enough,� he added.

He went on to add, �the only way to keep the Asiatic cheetahs away from total extinction is to first capture them alive, then breed them in captivity, and finally reintroduce them to the nature in a controlled manner.�

�If we do not implement this strategy today, we will be one day forced to import cheetahs from Africa so that we could replace the totally instinct Iranian cheetahs with at least their half-bred species,� he said.