Geneva, Nov 4: The Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) on Wednesday recognised India's progress in tightening controls on wildlife imports, while keeping the country under review and opening a new line of inquiry into the countries that issued export permits for the animals concerned, EU Reporter reported from the Committee's 81st session in Geneva. The Committee asked India for one further report before its next meeting, and no trade sanctions or new compliance measures were proposed.

Source: EU Reporter

The most consequential outcome came from Canada, EU Reporter reported. Its delegation, represented on the Committee by Carolina Caceres, commended India's progress but questioned whether further reporting by India alone could resolve the outstanding concerns, and proposed that the CITES Secretariat approach exporting and re-exporting countries directly to clarify questions about historical transactions. The recommendation was adopted by consensus. The decision moves part of the burden of proof away from India as the importing country and onto the authorities that issued the original export permits: Japan backed the principle, arguing that exporting and re-exporting states bear primary responsibility for establishing the legal origin and traceability of specimens before permits are granted, and Kenya likewise said exporters should supply the documentation showing animals were legally acquired.

Source: EU Reporter

That shift has a direct European dimension. New Zealand raised concerns about historical exports of protected Fijian iguanas from Austria, and called for scrutiny of the due diligence carried out by both the exporting and importing authorities — a case showing that EU member states are among the exporting countries whose permitting practices may now come under examination, EU Reporter noted. On the European side, France welcomed India's new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for wildlife imports, in force since October 16, 2026, but urged New Delhi to extend them beyond live animals to all species and specimens covered by CITES, and called for greater transparency and continued oversight; Germany endorsed the French position. The United Kingdom acknowledged India's substantial work but backed one more round of reporting on how the new procedures are being implemented, and Switzerland said further evidence of implementation was needed.

Source: EU Reporter

Beyond Europe, delegations including Canada, Japan, Brazil, Kenya, Indonesia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates commended or supported the steps taken by India's CITES Management Authority, and several argued that the reforms were sufficient to close the review under Article XIII of the Convention. The Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed that India had shared information on the measures taken, Togo described India's work as commendable and supported closing the review, and Brazil referred to ongoing talks on conservation cooperation involving a species extinct in the wild. Santosh Tewari of India's CITES Management Authority set out the reforms introduced since concerns were first raised at the Committee's 79th meeting — stronger institutional arrangements, closer cooperation with foreign authorities, and risk-based checks on the origin of imported animals, captive-breeding claims and supporting documents — and the CITES Secretariat confirmed that India had finalised and adopted the new due diligence procedures.

Source: EU Reporter

Vantara, the wildlife rescue and conservation facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat, at the centre of the import scrutiny, addressed the meeting as an observer. It said the measures adopted under its import moratorium would become permanent institutional practice rather than temporary arrangements, pledged to expand support for conservation in species' natural habitats, and said future conservation breeding would be carried out together with range countries and aimed at restoring wild populations, EU Reporter reported.

Source: EU Reporter

The Geneva review followed a CITES fact-finding mission that raised concerns in 2025 about some of India's imports for Vantara; a recommendation to restrict India's trade was later withdrawn, and the mission's November 2025 report warned of the need for caution to ensure imports of large numbers of animals by such facilities did not inadvertently create demand for illegally sourced animals, according to reporting by The Guardian and Mongabay published this week. In September 2025, India's Supreme Court accepted the findings of a special investigation team that cleared Vantara of breaking legal or ethical rules, and in May 2026 it declined a request for fresh criminal investigations into its animal transfers; in August 2026, Vantara told the Supreme Court it would stop applying to import animals for 12 months, counted from its last import on June 5. The United Kingdom chairs this week's 32-member Standing Committee meeting, which runs in Geneva from November 2 to 6.

Source: The Guardian / Mongabay (via Billionaires Africa)

What happens next: India will submit a further report ahead of the Committee's 82nd meeting, while the Secretariat pursues its inquiries with exporting countries. Sources: EU Reporter's report of the CITES Standing Committee's 81st session in Geneva (November 5, 2026), and The Guardian and Mongabay's reporting, published November 3, 2026, on the meeting and the Vantara compliance background.