Vantara's new chapter: Why Anant Ambani's animal rescue centre is stepping back from imports

New Delhi: Vantara, the animal rescue and rehabilitation centre founded by Anant Ambani, has announced a major overhaul of its operations following criticism over its rapid acquisition of animals from across the world and concerns surrounding the approval of imports of protected species.

John Scanlon, former secretary-general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), has been appointed chair of Vantara's newly created governing council. The council will have authority over decisions concerning animal acquisitions.

As part of the reset, Vantara said it would move away from importing animals and instead focus on supporting conservation efforts in their countries of origin.

"Vantara has sought, obtained, and acted upon external advice as it takes bold steps to reset its operations," Scanlon said in a statement issued by Reliance Industries.

The centre said it would strengthen its internal governance, due diligence, expertise and decision-making processes. It also plans to shift its focus from ex situ rescue — conserving animals outside their natural habitats — to in situ conservation, supporting species in their native environments.

One-year import moratorium

The 3,500-acre facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2025, currently houses hundreds of animals, including more than 260 Asian elephants, along with bears, tigers, lions, leopards and crocodiles.

Vantara has faced scrutiny over the scale and speed of its animal acquisitions, particularly the import of rare and critically endangered species.

In 2025, the CITES Secretariat recommended significant reforms to ensure that Vantara did not inadvertently contribute to the illegal harvesting of wild animals.

Vantara said it had submitted voluntary commitments to CITES and the Supreme Court of India. These include withdrawing all pending applications to import live animals.

The centre has also imposed a minimum one-year moratorium on imports until June 2027, saying the pause would allow it to strengthen its governance, expertise and operational processes.

Focus shifts to conservation

Under the new approach, Vantara said it would support conservation efforts in India, including state forest departments, rescue centres, breeding programmes and zoo modernisation.

Its international work will focus on strengthening rescue centres, veterinary hospitals and conservation programmes in countries where threatened species naturally occur, rather than relocating animals to India.

Proposed projects include conservation support for Spix's macaws in Brazil and initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Rwanda. Vantara also plans to support elephant care centres in Indonesia and Zimbabwe.

The centre had earlier offered to take in hippopotamuses descended from animals introduced to Colombia by drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, rather than have them culled.

"This represents a new chapter for Vantara," CEO Vivaan Karani said.

He said the organisation ultimately wanted to be assessed not by the number of animals brought to Vantara, but by the number of animals helped in their natural habitats, species recovered in the wild, people trained, countries supported and scientific expertise shared.

(AFP)