British Officials Cautioned Against Formal Contact With Indian Zoo Vantara

British government civil servants explicitly advised ministers to avoid formal engagement with Vantara, a large Indian wildlife facility founded and led by Anant Ambani, according to internal documents obtained under freedom of information laws. The communications, originating from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and detailed by Mongabay and The Guardian, highlighted concerns regarding ongoing compliance proceedings and international wildlife trade regulations.

Vantara is a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation centre housing more than 150,000 animals. While the facility is closed to the general public, it has hosted high-profile visitors such as football player Lionel Messi, Meta executive Mark Zuckerberg and actor Tyrese Gibson. The institution is led by Anant Ambani, the son of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.

Internal DEFRA briefings noted that officials cautioned against ministerial interactions primarily because the United Kingdom holds a committee chairmanship at CITES, the international treaty governing trade in endangered species. An official wrote in a July email that ministers should not engage formally with the organization given ongoing compliance scrutiny and proceedings.

Government records released to journalists indicate that British authorities issued 152 export and re-export permits for live animals to be shipped to Vantara between October 2023 and September 2026. The permits covered 18 species, including tigers, lar gibbons, yellow-cheeked gibbons, black-and-white ruffed lemurs, red-ruffed lemurs and critically endangered cotton-top tamarins.

The documents do not provide a definitive count of animals ultimately shipped. While data shows that 44 permits were returned unused and six were canceled, 19 permits were marked as used for animal transfers, with the status of the remaining permits unconfirmed regarding actual shipment.

In addition to general trade oversight, internal records show officials examined Vantara's attempts to acquire falcons. DEFRA identified an alleged donation of approximately £50,000 made to an unnamed falcon exporter during recent permit applications intended for a zoo transfer under CITES regulations. Vantara has previously denied any wrongdoing, and an investigation by India's top court dismissed similar allegations last year following official scrutiny regarding the acquisition of endangered species.