June 11, 1999
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Some of the nation's top dogs gathered in Washington, D.C., today to announce their plans to help save the world's cats. Sound unlikely? Not to Thomas Payne, dean of the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, who was among the top dogs at a press conference today focusing on the world's critically endangered wild tigers.
Payne, representing the Mizzou Tigers, joined Sen. John Chafee of Rhode Island, Chainman and CEO of Exxon Lee Raymond, and leaders of major national conservation organizations in announcing a commitment to protecting the lives of wild tigers. Chafee, host of the conference, announced a new bill to create a grants program to benefit endangered species and the launch of the Tiger Conservation Challenge Campaign, a new initiative which will partner the federal government, businesses, universities and non-profit organizations to support tiger conservation.
MU has a unique place in this group as the first university to actively support a comprehensive tiger conservation program called Mizzou Tigers for Tigers. Mizzou Tigers for Tigers has four major goals: to raise awareness of the conservation needs of wild tigers; to develop research and educational partnerships with organizations in tiger-range countries and in the United States; to support funding of tiger conservation efforts; and to provide leadership in the development of tiger conservation programs at other universities.
As an initiative of the fourth goal, Payne announced today that as part of Mizzou Tigers for Tigers, the University plans to kick off a campaign to contact the more than 65 universities across the country with tiger mascots to encourage them to create a conservation program similar to Mizzou Tigers for Tigers. Also, in fall 2000, MU plans to host a conference, at which the Mizzou Tigers for Tigers program will serve as a model for other institutions interested in creating a similar program.
Other participants in the conference today were Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, President of the World Wildlife Fund Kathryn Fuller and Program Director for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Whitney Tilt.