Hepworth is part of a three-member CITES team in New Delhi to discuss with the Indian government on strategies to protect India's dwindling tiger population and their habitats.

The number of tigers in the country has now fallen to 3,500 from 4,300 in 1989, and conservationists fear tigers could be extinct by 2010 if measures to save them were not stepped up.

CITES said tiger poaching in India had reached alarming levels, with authorities seizing as many as 14 tiger skins, six tiger skeletons and more than 200 kg (440 lb) of tiger bones last year.

The team said most tigers poached in India ended up in the Chinese traditional medicine market where there was huge demand for their skin, bones and body parts.

"India's tiger population faces a clear and present danger from traditional Chinese medicine," Hepworth said.

One of the team members said the gathering of fingerprints and photographs as well as "well-qualified intelligence is required" to combat poaching. "Fight poaching like narcotics."

The team also suggested setting up a National Wildlife Crime Unit in India to bring poachers to justice, but did not give any details.