Bengaluru: The Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (GZRRC) at Jamnagar, Gujarat – which also goes by the name of Vantara – may have fuelled illegal wildlife trade, with animals possibly being sourced from their wild habitats through exporters from across the world, a recent report by a German daily said. The German report, however, is “entirely baseless” and “misleading”, Vantara claimed in a statement to The Wire.
The report, published on March 13, by German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) in collaboration with a Venezuelan investigative media outlet and based on data from two trade databases, pegged the total number of animals at Vantara at more than 39,000 and alleged that most of these transfers occurred over the last year. It also gave the number of specific species that are housed at the rescue centre; per the report, Vantara is home to 181 lions, more than 200 leopards and elephants, as well as huge numbers of rare and threatened wildlife from across countries such as Venezuela and Congo. The report is among several recent investigations such as this one, that have raised several concerns regarding Vantara’s sourcing of animals in need of rescue and that many of them may have actually come from the wild.
Saying that it has already initiated legal action against the publication, Vantara has said that all animals that are housed at its center are captive-bred and rescued from private collections or zoos and other rehabilitation centers, and that each of them have relevant documentation such as permits from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as proof for this.
The detailed investigative report by SZ comes on the heels of a demand made by a coalition of South African animal rights groups that its environment ministry investigate the export of wild animals to the Vantara. The Wildlife Animal Protection Forum of South Africa (WAPFSA) – a coalition of 30 South African organisations – wrote to South African environment minister Dion George more than a week ago saying that it was “aware that legitimate concerns have been raised within CITES regarding the large amount of different live species of wild animals that are being imported to [Vantara]”.
‘Fuelling illegal wildlife trade’
The GZRRC or Vantara, has been set up by Anant Ambani, son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani who owns Reliance Industries Limited. Established in 2019 at Jamnagar in Gujarat, the centre spans across 277 hectares. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the rescue centre on March 3, 2025, on World Wildlife Day. According to its Annual Report of 2023-24, Vantara was home to more than 10,000 animals as of March 2024.
On March 13 this year, Süddeutsche Zeitung in collaboration with Venezuelan investigative media outlet Armando Info, published a report titled “The billionaire and his 181 lions”. Relying on data from two trade databases, one of them open-source, the report gave what it called an updated estimate of the number of animals in the rescue center. It said that at least 39,000 wild animals had been delivered to Vantara by the end of December 2024, and many of them occurred over the last nine months.
Also read: South African Animal Rights Group Calls for Probe Into Ambani-Owned Vantara
Per the report, the import data revealed that animals were delivered to Vantara from 32 countries, through 53 exporters. It found that the highest number of animals – a staggering 11,729 – came from exporters in the United Arab Emirates. These included endangered species such as 14 orangutans and a mountain gorilla. The lone mountain gorilla at Vantara is the only one in captivity in the world, as per the report. The biggest supplier of animals to Vantara, the report said, was the Kangaroo Animals Shelter Center and the Kangaroo Animals Center in the UAE. This centre, which is registered as a zoo, has delivered animals only to Vantara, per the German report. Incidentally, Dubai, in the UAE, is one of the biggest transit and destination hubs for live animals trafficked from Africa, Asia and South America.
From Venezuela in South America, 6,106 animals – including 142 giant anteaters and 101 giant otters – arrived at Vantara. Similarly, 1,770 animals came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, including 100 Hamlyn’s monkeys, the report said.
Hamlyn’s, also known as owl-faced monkeys, are found only in the rainforests of Congo in Africa. The species is rare and threatened, and the IUCN Red List which classifies wild species based on how threatened they are, categorises this species as “Vulnerable,” due to its decreasing numbers in the wild. As is the giant anteater, a species that dwells in South America. The IUCN Red List categorises mountain gorillas – a species found in the tropical African rainforests of Congo and Rwanda – as Endangered, while orangutans (all three species that are found across some parts of Southeast Asia) as Critically Endangered. Among the threats these primates face are illegal killing and trade, where infants are often captured alive after adults are killed, specifically for the illegal pet trade.
The German report said that Vantara’s demand for wild animals and its procurement of them from not just zoos but also commercial animal traders from across the world could have possibly resulted in animals being caught from the wild to meet demands. Many of the animals at Vantara have come from areas such as Venezuela, Congo and Indonesia which are hotspots of illegal wildlife trafficking, primarily for the illegal wildlife pet trade, the German report added.
“According to research by the SZ, animals of protected species that were caught in the wild and then delivered to India may have ended up in Vantara,” the report said. “In addition, numerous strictly protected species that are not allowed to be traded have reached India. Possibly through a loophole in the international regulations governing trade in endangered species.”
The report also quotes a European wildlife dealer, name withheld, as saying that the “supply” of wild animals has been “bought up” and supply lists were getting shorter because “everything goes to India”.
“The fact that this demand also leads to more wild catches is “obvious” to the animal dealer,” the German report read.
The team further analysed numbers given in Vantara’s official annual reports, and found that almost 5,000 animals arrived at the rescue center from across India, including more than 200 elephants. This acquiring of elephants that are claimed to have been previously used for forestry purposes has already raised concerns among several groups. An investigative report in Himal, an independent media house, also suggested that there are many incongruencies in how the zoo may have acquired these “captive” elephants, enabled by amendments made by India’s government in the Wild Life Protection Act (1972) and the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules.
‘Entirely baseless’, ‘misleading’
However, the German daily’s report that many of the “rescued” animals in Vantara’s collection may, in fact, be wild-caught individuals taken from their native habitats by exporters is “entirely baseless” and “misleading,” Vantara said in response to The Wire’s questions regarding the report.
“Vantara does not engage in or support the wild capture of animals,” it said in an email response. “Our animals come from other zoological institutions, rescue centers, surrenders, and legal rehabilitations – often from facilities that can no longer care for them or from organisations/ individuals who have surrendered them due to various reasons, including cruel quarantine conditions abroad, hunting lodges, and overcrowded zoos in distressed regions.”
However, the German report points out that animal traders registering their collections as zoos is one of the many loopholes that can legalise transfers of rare and threatened animals from across the world to another: in this case, Vantara.
Vantara’s statement also claimed that every transfer of animals coming to the centre “is conducted legally and ethically, in full compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Indian laws, and international regulations”, and that Vantara only accepts animals classified as captive-bred by their CITES permits.
However, as the German report pointed out, experts say that it is virtually impossible to discern if an animal was wild-caught or captive bred from CITES permits alone. As a source told SZ, several great apes – such as chimpanzees and the mountain gorilla – “appear to have been traded under the guise of breeding” and this is “the oldest trick in wildlife traffickers’ playbook to mask the illegal or dubious origin of these animals”.
However, according to Vantara, questioning CITES permits is equivalent to casting aspersions not only on the countries that issued the permits, but also on CITES itself.
“Questioning CITES export permits issued by sovereign nations casts unwarranted doubt on both the issuing country and the CITES Secretariat, and such allegations should not be made without unimpeachable evidence beyond a reasonable doubt,” the response from Vantara said.
Also read: Of Red Carpets and Green Tape: The Travails of Wildlife Researchers in India
“We emphatically and unequivocally reject” the German article’s suggestion that Vantara’s demand for rescue animals may have encouraged their capture from the wild, Vantara’s response also added, calling the article a “profane allegation”.
“The German article is an intentional smear, and while we are aware of the motivations behind its publication, given ongoing legal proceedings in India and Germany, we will not address that here,” it said. “The claim itself is speculative and baseless. Vantara does not create demand for wild capture – we exist to rehabilitate animals that have already been displaced, kept in captivity under inadequate conditions, abandoned, or confiscated by enforcement agencies.”
It further added: “To suggest that our work fosters illegal wildlife trade is a gross misrepresentation. We collaborate with authorities to combat illegal trafficking and provide a lawful, ethical sanctuary for rescued animals…Any attempt to link us to such activities is not only incorrect but also legally untenable.”
Numbers don’t tally?
The press response from Vantara also said that the claim that Vantara received more than 30,000 animals in a year is “deliberately misleading” and that the actual number of animals at the centre, as well as the numbers of each species, is publicly available in their annual report that is also published on the website of India’s Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
The CZA is the nodal agency for zoos and rescue centres in the country, and lays down guidelines and conditions that need to be met by such centres. Zoos or rescue centres also have to submit updated annual reports to the CZA. However, the latest annual report that Vantara has submitted to the CZA is for the year 2023-24 and according to this, it houses 10,360 animals belonging to 345 species.
The German report had also said that Vantara has huge numbers of some species at its rescue centre. For instance, it said that the centre has more than 200 leopards and elephants, and 181 lions, including different hybridised colour morphs. It also said that data showed that Vantara had imported 100 Hamlyn’s monkeys.
However the claim that there are 100 of these monkeys at the centre is “entirely false,” Vantara told The Wire, adding that the centre does not “stockpile” animals: “The report relies on unverified data, and any numbers it provides should be treated with skepticism. Every intake at Vantara is carefully planned, ensuring proper welfare and capacity management. We do not “stockpile” animals; each receives individualised care, veterinary oversight, and a suitable habitat.”
It is noteworthy that Vantara did not specify the precise number of Hamlyn’s monkeys in its response to The Wire.
