More than two dozen international wildlife conservation and animal welfare organisations have called on Vantara, the private zoological facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat, to permanently stop importing wild animals and introduce stronger safeguards around animal acquisitions.
In an open letter dated September 22 and released by Germany based Pro Wildlife, 27 organisations including the Jane Goodall Institute Global and Animal Welfare Institute, urged Vantara to strengthen transparency, independent oversight and due diligence.
The letter acknowledged Vantara recent decision to pause pending and new live animal import applications for up to a year following scrutiny related to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, the organisations said the temporary pause should instead become permanent with narrowly defined exceptions for independently verified conservation or animal welfare emergencies.
Concerns over scale of animal imports
The organisations cited what they described as an unprecedented scale of imports by Vantara over a four year period, involving around 60,000 live animals across 2,000 species.
They highlighted species including Tapanuli orangutans, Spix’s macaws, Galápagos iguanas and shoebills, describing some of them as rare or highly endangered.
According to the organisations, exemptions under a temporary import moratorium could potentially allow animals to be brought in from commercial facilities, animals described as captive bred whose origins may be uncertain, or animals for which provenance cannot be independently established.
They also warned that a time limited suspension could create incentives for wildlife traders to accumulate animals before the restrictions expire.
Calls for greater transparency
The organisations called for a complete and regularly updated inventory of animals held at Vantara, including information on their origins, transfers, births and deaths. They said the inventory should be subject to independent review.
They also called for measures to eliminate potential commercial incentives connected with animal acquisitions, including direct or indirect payments or donations that could be perceived as linked to obtaining animals.
Other recommendations included stricter criteria for defining legitimate rescues a non breeding policy and an end to commercial trade, exchange or acquisitions for public display.
The groups further sought safeguards against conflicts of interest on advisory boards and protections for journalists, civil society organisations and whistleblowers.
Focus on conservation in animals’ native ranges
The organisations urged Vantara to place greater emphasis on in situ conservation protecting species in their natural habitats and to support independently managed conservation and repatriation programmes in countries where the animals originated.
They also called for assessments of whether some animals could eventually be returned to their native range states, alongside support for high standards at local rescue facilities.
Vantara announced in August that it would pause pending and new live animal import applications shift greater attention from ex-situ to in situ conservation, strengthen governance and due diligence, and address concerns surrounding its standards.
CITES review ahead
The latest letter comes ahead of the 81st meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, scheduled for November 2-6 in Geneva.
The committee is expected to consider India’s response to findings from an official CITES Secretariat verification mission conducted in September 2025.
Pro Wildlife said the mission had raised concerns about the volume of imports of strictly protected species to Vantara and potential issues concerning international wildlife trade regulations.
The organisations’ latest demands therefore place Vantara’s animal acquisition policies, transparency measures and conservation practices under renewed international scrutiny.