Supreme Court Orders Inquiry into India's Vantara Private Zoo Allegations

Sat Oct 18 2025 08:05:02 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

India's Supreme Court has initiated an investigation into the Vantara private zoo, managed by Anant Ambani, amidst claims of illegal animal acquisition and mistreatment.

Following a Supreme Court directive, investigators will assess allegations against Vantara, a vast private zoo in Gujarat owned by the Ambani family. The inquiry will focus on potential illegal animal acquisitions, mistreatment, and violations of wildlife laws, as critics raise concerns about facilities and practices at the zoo. The facility, viewed as the world's largest wildlife rehabilitation center, has been embroiled in controversies regarding its treatment of animals, particularly elephants.

Investigators in India will visit a vast private zoo owned by the billionaire Ambani family, after the Supreme Court ordered an inquiry into allegations that animals were acquired unlawfully and mistreated.

The inquiry will also examine possible violations of wildlife laws at Vantara, as well as allegations of financial irregularities and money laundering.

The Supreme Court said there was no proof to support the allegations but ordered an inquiry because authorities had been accused of failing in their duties.

Vantara, run by Anant Ambani - son of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani - is home to hundreds of elephants, tigers and other animals. It has promised full co-operation with the inquiry.

Vantara remains committed to transparency, compassion and full compliance with the law. Our mission and focus continues to be the rescue, rehabilitation and care of animals, it said, without directly commenting on the allegations.

Spread over 3,500 acres and home to some 2,000 species, Vantara bills itself as the world's largest wildlife rehabilitation centre. It was one of the venues for Anant Ambani's lavish pre-wedding events that made global headlines last year.

Vantara is home to a wide variety of animals - including about 200 elephants, 300 big cats such as leopards, tigers, and lions, and more than 300 herbivores and 1,200 reptiles, according to the News18 website, part of the Reliance conglomerate owned by the Ambani family.

The shelter has been the centre of angry protests in the state of Maharashtra recently, after an ailing elephant called Mahadevi, kept at a Jain temple in Kolhapur town for three decades, was relocated to Vantara in July, after a high court order.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the Supreme Court asked the four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to submit its report on Vantara by 12 September.

The next court hearing is scheduled for 15 September.