12-month self-imposed moratorium on animal imports: Vantara tells Supreme Court

Vantara,  an animal rescue and rehabilitation facility managed by the Reliance Group, has announced a voluntary 12-month moratorium on applying for import of animals to its facility [Karnartham Viramah Foundation v. Union of India & Ors]

The Jamnagar-based facility disclosed the decision in an application filed before the Supreme Court.

The application filed on August 19 placed on record a detailed representation submitted to the CITES Management Authority of India (CMA India). 

In its application, Vantara has said that its internal moratorium took effect on June 5, 2026, the date of its last physical import of animals. 

It has affirmed to have neither submitted fresh import requests since February 2026 nor maintained any pending applications. 

As per the letter placed before the Court,

“A moratorium of twelve months (implemented internally with effect from 05 June 2026, being the date upon which the last import physically took place) upon any application for import, during which enhanced governance expertise and due diligence procedures established internally will be brought into working order and Vantara will undertake structured outreach, pursue international accreditation and benchmarking.”

The application was filed in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's May 27 order which rejected a plea seeking to reopen investigations into international animal transfers to the Jamnagar facilities.  

The applicant, Karnartham Viramah Foundation, had demanded a fresh probe by agencies including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) into wildlife transfers involving Vantara and the associated Khodiyar Animal Welfare Trust. 

The Court had dismissed the plea and held that all animal transfers up to September 2025 had already been examined by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), whose report was accepted in September 2025 and reaffirmed in March 2026.

In its fresh application, Vantara has also committed to the following permanent self-imposed restraints:

• Abstaining from importing animals using CITES re-export certificates, except where at least seven years have elapsed since the animal's original import. 

• Refraining from importing wild-caught specimens directly from their natural range states, even if bred in captivity.  

• Redirecting resources toward treating, placing, and funding lifetime care for animals in distress within their home countries rather than bringing them to India.  

[Read Letter]