UK Advised to Avoid Formal Talks with Vantara After Lobbying Push
Records show British officials received guidance to distance themselves from the Indian billionaire’s sanctuary ahead of a major wildlife trade vote in Geneva.
By Emily Brooks ·
British government officials received a recommendation to avoid formal engagement with Vantara, the private animal sanctuary owned by Indian billionaire Anant Ambani, following a series of lobbying efforts. The advice emerged just as the United Kingdom prepared to chair a key meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in Geneva this week.
Internal documents obtained through freedom of information requests detail how the sanctuary’s representatives approached UK ministers. In May, staff from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met with Vantara representatives and Checkmate Government Relations. The lobbying firm was founded by Ches McDowell, a hunting friend of Donald Trump Jr. An internal briefing noted that Checkmate wanted the UK to view India’s handling of Vantara’s animal imports more favorably. The firm argued that checking the legality of imports was primarily the responsibility of the exporting countries.
Following that meeting, a representative from Atlas Strategy, another firm acting for Vantara, contacted then-environment secretary Emma Reynolds and then-nature minister Mary Creagh. These approaches discussed a possible visit to the sanctuary. Reynolds sought advice, which led to the recommendation that ministers should not engage formally with Vantara. The UK’s role as chair of the current Cites committee was cited by officials when they declined invitations to visit the site.
Vantara is a 1,400-hectare facility near Ambani’s family oil-refining plants in Gujarat. Ambani, 31, is the heir to the wealth of Mukesh Ambani. The sanctuary has reportedly accumulated over 150,000 animals since 2022, including more than 260 elephants. It promotes amenities such as an elephant hydrotherapy pool and Ayurvedic massages. Conservation groups have questioned the speed of this acquisition. A Cites fact-finding mission in 2025 identified concerns about India’s compliance with import rules, though its initial recommendation for temporary restrictions was later withdrawn.
The records also mention a £50,000 donation from an unnamed organization to a British breeder regarding falcon imports. UK Cites officials treated the transaction as commercial, but the birds were not exported to India. Vantara stated it had not imported falcons from Britain and had not paid its lobbying firms. The firms worked without payment and were not required to register with the UK’s consultant lobbyists registrar.
In response to scrutiny, Vantara voluntarily paused animal imports for a year and appointed former Cites chief John Scanlon to oversee operations. Ambani told the Sunday Times this year that he acquired animals legally for their welfare, citing hippos rescued from a South African hunting lodge and penguins from a shopping center in Qatar. India’s supreme court cleared the sanctuary’s operators of wrongdoing last year.
