In the best of all possible worlds, there would be plenty of money donated by millions of concerned individuals to cover all the conceivable costs associated with any and all conservation programs. Unfortunately, there simply is still not enough money available from such donations to fund even a small portion of the programs necessary to pursue the conservation of the tiger. Up to date, donations from either individuals or corporations simply are not enough.

Other revenue resources include funds set aside by governments to help with conservation efforts. There are many commendable and worthwhile examples of exactly such types of programs around the world. The congress of the United States and the Government of Canada, for example, have designated specific sums of money to be spent on the conservation of the tiger and other endangered animals - funds taken from the general budget of taxpayer dollars. India, Russia and Indonesia also set aside government moneys to help sustain the parks and reserves dedicated to the conservation of the tiger. The governments of other countries in which tigers roam wild have often been equally generous in their public support of tiger-oriented conservation programs.

Unfortunately, even this combination of governmental funds plus donations does not come close to covering the costs of the many types of tiger conservation efforts that scientists and environmentalists hope to implement on behalf of wild tigers. Other revenue options are available, but they are sometimes extremely controversial.

For example, a portion of the moneys generated by zoos can also be spent on conservation - and many zoos around the world are already very generously involved in exactly these types of programs. However, some people feel that it is unfair to use animals living in captivity, however humanely, to generate moneys for animals in the wild.

Nevertheless, If we want to prevent the extinction of wild tigers, large sums of money must be mobilized. With this site, The Tiger Foundation is launching a worldwide campaign to raise an initial $10 million dollars to finance several urgently needed tiger conservation initiatives.