Mr Lebedev's spokesman, Artyom Artyomov said the decision was "absolute nonsense and completely impossible to implement", and that he would continue to campaign as normal while he appealed.
According to Raghu Chundawat, a Delhi-based wildlife scientist who is not connected to the project, any long-term suspension of the radio-collar programme would be a "disaster" for the Sundarbans, and doubts about the safety of the drugs are "absolute nonsense".