CITES Report Urges India to Halt Wildlife Imports Pending Stronger Checks

CITES Report Latest News

• A CITES verification mission has advised India to halt imports of critically endangered species — including gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and snow leopards — until stronger checks and due diligence measures are implemented.
• The report warned of illegal harvesting of wild animals falsely declared as captive-bred and asked India to provide credible evidence to the CITES Secretariat in Geneva proving its compliance with global wildlife trade safeguards.

About CITES

• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a global treaty with 185 members, regulates international trade in protected species.

Structure and Mechanism

• Species protected under CITES are classified into three Appendices:
  • Appendix I: Species threatened with extinction; trade permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
  • Appendix II: Species not necessarily threatened but whose trade must be controlled to avoid overexploitation.
  • Appendix III: Species protected in at least one country that has asked other Parties for assistance in controlling trade.
• Trade in CITES-listed species requires export and import permits issued by designated national CITES authorities in each member country.

India and CITES

• India joined CITES in 1976, and no international wildlife trade is permitted without export and import permits issued by designated CITES authorities.
• The Directorate of Wildlife Preservation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) serves as India’s CITES Management Authority.
• CITES implementation in India aligns with the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which governs the trade, acquisition, and possession of wildlife species and derivatives.

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CITES Mission Flags Gaps in India’s Wildlife Import Procedures

• A CITES verification mission has urged India to suspend imports of critically endangered species — such as gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and snow leopards — until it strengthens due diligence and verification systems to prevent illegal wildlife trade.
• The mission warned against the illegal capture of wild animals falsely declared as captive-bred and asked India to provide evidence of compliance to the CITES Secretariat in Geneva.

Background: Inspection Triggered by Gujarat Zoo Imports

• At a CITES Standing Committee meeting in Geneva (February 2025), member countries raised concerns about wildlife imports to the Greens Zoological Rescue & Rehabilitation Center (GZRRC) in Jamnagar, Gujarat, operated by Vantara.
• This led to a CITES inspection mission, which also visited the Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTEWT).

Key Findings of the Report

• The mission found that while all imports had valid CITES permits, questions remained about:
  • The true origin of animals,
  • The accuracy of source (captive-bred) and purpose (zoo) codes, and
  • The extent of India’s due diligence in verifying imports.
• Under India’s Wildlife Protection Act, zoos can only acquire or transfer animals from other recognised zoos.
• However, many imports came from commercial breeding facilities, not zoos — raising concerns about wild-caught animals being mislabelled as captive-bred.

Animal Holdings and Facility Standards

• The CITES Secretariat noted that both facilities – GZRRC and RKTEWT – maintain exceptionally high welfare standards and that their representatives denied buying any animals.

Contradictory Records on Czech Republic Imports

• The Czech CITES authority told the Secretariat that animals sent to GZRRC were sold, not rescued, contradicting India’s claim.

Questionable Origins of Animals from Africa and South America

• Three African elephants imported from Tunisia were found to be wild-caught from Burkina Faso.
• 363 animals, including primates, crocodilians, and anteaters, exported from Guyana, were marked as wild (source code W) and for zoos (purpose code Z) — raising concerns of misclassification.

Imports from Unlikely or Unverified Sources

• The report listed multiple imports via the UAE claiming “captive-bred” origins from countries with no breeding programs — such as:
  • Chimpanzees from Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait
  • Bonobo from Iraq
  • Gorilla from Haiti
  • Cheetahs from Syria
• It also noted imports of Appendix-I species under “confiscation” (code I) — including jaguars, ocelots, margays, jaguarundis, chimpanzees, orangutans, and cheetahs — with unknown origins from Mexico and the UAE.

CITES Recommendations for India

• The CITES Secretariat recommended that India:
  • Review and strengthen its import procedures urgently to ensure authenticity of captive-bred claims.
  • Verify all flagged imports with source or transit countries — including Congo, Germany, Guyana, Iraq, Mexico, Syria, and the UAE — to confirm origins.
  • Take corrective action if animals were found to be sourced from the wild under false captive-bred claims.

Next Steps and Reporting Deadline

• The CITES Standing Committee, meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on November 23, will review India’s case.
• The Secretariat has asked India to take corrective measures and submit a detailed compliance report within 90 days.

Source: IE | CNBC | CITES