*

Vantara has imported animals from many nations; denies

commercial payments

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EU states scrutinising wildlife-export requests involving

India,

Vantara

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Brazil has raised concerns about transfer of Spix's macaws

to

India

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Indian investigation cleared Vantara of any wrongdoing

By Aditya Kalra, Arpan Chaturvedi and Ricardo Brito

NEW DELHI/BRASILIA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - This is a story

about a bird and a family. But this is no ordinary bird, and

this is no ordinary family.

Spix's macaw, a vivid-blue parrot with elaborate mating

rituals, was declared extinct in the wild in 2019. A

captive-breeding program has since seen some of the birds

reintroduced to their native habitat in Brazil.

For more than two years, officials on three continents have

been agitating over why 26 of the creatures ended up at a

private zoo in India run by the philanthropic arm of a

conglomerate controlled by Asia's richest family, the Ambanis.

Indian investigators cleared the sanctuary of any wrongdoing

this week. But European officials say they are keeping a close

watch on any exports to Vantara, while Brazil, Germany and India

are working toward a possible resolution at a United

Nations-administered body that monitors wildlife trade.

The 3,500-acre Vantara animal rescue and rehabilitation centre

in Gujarat state says it is home to some 2,000 species. The

venue featured in pre-wedding celebrations last year for the

centre's leader Anant Ambani, the youngest son of billionaire

Mukesh Ambani, whose guests included Ivanka Trump and Mark

Zuckerberg.

The zoo, adjacent to an oil refinery operated by the

Ambanis' Reliance Industries, was inaugurated in March by Indian

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A Reuters analysis of 2,500 commercially available customs

records shows that since 2022, the wildlife centre has imported

an extraordinary range of exotic species from countries

including South Africa, Venezuela, Democratic Republic of Congo

and the United Arab Emirates.

The haul resembles a modern-day Noah's Ark: 2,896 snakes,

1,431 tortoises, 219 tigers, 149 cheetahs, 105 giraffes, 62

chimpanzees, 20 rhinoceroses and scores of reptiles, including

spiny-tailed lizards and veiled chameleons.

The shipments were recorded with a declared value of $9

million, which a Vantara spokesperson said reflected freight and

insurance charges, not payments for wildlife.

"They are not commercial transactions in animals," the

spokesperson said. "There has never been any commercial

consideration paid for any animal transferred to Vantara."

In August, India's Supreme Court ordered investigators to

examine whether Vantara's acquisitions and treatment of animals

complied with Indian laws and the Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The

court this week said investigators found no illegality.

THIS PARROT ISN'T DEAD, IT'S IN INDIA

The biggest bone of contention has revolved around the

Spix's macaws that the park sourced in 2023 from the Association

for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP), a

Germany-based non-profit that had partnered with Brazilian

authorities to breed the birds, according to customs records,

Brazilian officials and CITES documents.

The macaws' journey is detailed in a customs bill of entry

seen by Reuters. It shows the birds were flown to Ahmedabad from

Berlin on February 4, 2023, with costs, insurance and freight

amounting to $969 per macaw, for a total of $25,194. Customs

taxes and local duties of $19,000 were waived in line with

Indian practice.

Brazil says it didn't consent to the parrots' passage to

India, and has raised its concerns at CITES meetings.

"The Vantara zoo has not yet joined the Spix's Macaw

Population Management Program, which is a fundamental condition

for the official involvement of this institution in the species

conservation effort," the Chico Mendes Institute for

Biodiversity Conservation, a Brazilian government agency, told

Reuters by email on September 8.

"At the moment, no Indian institutions are participating in

the program, so there is no reason for Spix's macaws to be sent

to India."

Brazil ended its agreement with ACTP last year, saying the

group had sent Spix's macaws to other countries in "commercial

transactions" without Brazilian consent. The nonprofit has

previously denied that the parrots' transfer was commercial in

nature; it didn't respond to a request for comment.

The Vantara spokesperson told Reuters the macaws' transfer

was "entirely lawful, non-commercial, and undertaken as a

conservation breeding arrangement with ACTP."

India's Central Zoo Authority didn't respond to queries.

Germany's federal environment ministry told Reuters it had

cleared the 2023 transfer of macaws to Vantara in "good faith",

but didn't consult Brazil at the time.

Last year, after consulting with Brazilian authorities,

Germany rejected an application for a further transfer of Spix's

macaws to Vantara on the grounds that the zoo was "not a

participant" in the species' population management program, a

ministry spokesperson said.

"This decision is currently subject to legal proceedings,"

the spokesperson added, declining to elaborate.

POPCORN FOR ELEPHANTS

In the year ended March 2024, only 20% of the 6,355 animals

that reached Vantara came from India, the centre's annual report

shows. Overall, it has imported species from 40 countries.

Vantara developed from barren land in 2020 to an area of

manicured lawns and jungle-like greenery, satellite imagery

provided by Maxar Technologies shows.

In media tours, Anant Ambani has showcased kitchens stocked

with premium products used to prepare fresh juices, sweets, and

even popcorn as treats for elephants.

When Modi visited Vantara this year, his office released an

eight-minute video of him feeding lion cubs, elephants, rhinos

and giraffes. One picture showed a Spix's macaw perched on a

prime ministerial hand.

India's government defended Vantara at CITES meetings in

Geneva in February, saying the facility is a "recognized center

for conservation breeding", according to a summary published by

CITES.

CITES documents published ahead of its next meeting in

November show progress in resolving the inquisition. The CITES

Secretariat told Reuters there had been consultations involving

Brazil, India and Germany, and that Brazilian officials would

provide an update.

Still, European officials recently indicated they are

keeping an eagle eye on any applications to ship wildlife to

Vantara.

In an August 1 response to a lawmaker's concerns about

wildlife trade, European Environment Commissioner Jessika

Roswall said EU states "will pay particular attention to any

export requests directed towards India and the facility in

question" and assess them with "increased scrutiny". Roswall's

action hasn't been previously reported.

Judges in New Delhi this week released a summary of the

Indian investigators' report.

Among the findings: The export-import permits for Spix's

macaws were in order, and Vantara was now holding direct talks

with Brazil about "rewilding".

"Their deliberations are at a preliminary stage," it said.