Target: Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India
Goal: Order an immediate moratorium on zoo and rescue imports of endangered animals amid reportedly forged permits, mismatched purpose codes, and questionable origins, then enforce rigorous CITES due diligence, audits and transparency.
A CITES-designated committee recommended that Indian wildlife authorities pause permits for importing endangered animals while practices are comprehensively reviewed. The committee’s report, uploaded by CITES, praised one high-profile facility’s “exceptionally high standards,” yet still flagged systemic concerns around how India verifies origin codes (wild vs captive-bred) and purpose codes (zoological vs commercial). These red flags reportedly include a shipment labelled commercially by an exporting nation but later reclassified as zoological on arrival, without documented verification with the exporting authority, and invoices from another country that authorities there reputedly viewed as sales, while Indian filings were interpreted as non-commercial transfers.
Further, the committee recounted a case where export permits for chimpanzees from Cameroon were reportedly forged. While the import did not proceed, the committee noted Indian authorities could have seen from CITES data that Cameroon has not traded chimpanzees since 2000 and lacks captive-breeding for that species, signalling a due diligence gap. The committee warned that large-volume acquisitions can inadvertently create demand that traffickers exploit, and urged reinforced cross-checks so that import flows do not normalize irregular sourcing.
A narrowly tailored pause protects animals and helps restore confidence. During the moratorium, authorities can institute mandatory cross-verification with exporting management authorities before any code change, publish a public registry of permits and codes, require independent third-party audits, and retroactively review recent imports that reportedly involved code discrepancies or questionable origins. Stronger scrutiny and transparent reporting would honour CITES obligations and help prevent allegedly illegal or mislabelled wildlife trade. This petition urges an immediate pause and a swift, concrete compliance plan before any new endangered-animal import permits are issued.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Minister Yadav,
A recent CITES committee report recommends pausing endangered-animal import permits for Indian zoos and rescue facilities while national practices are reviewed. The committee’s assessment, while acknowledging high standards at a visited facility, still flagged alleged irregularities: purpose codes changed domestically without documented confirmation from exporting authorities, invoices that exporting officials viewed as evidence of sales despite non-commercial characterizations in India, and a separate instance where forged export permits reportedly surfaced in a planned shipment of chimpanzees.
These reported issues raise significant due diligence concerns under CITES. The committee cautioned that large-volume acquisitions may inadvertently stimulate demand that traffickers exploit, and urged reinforced verification of origin and purpose, coupled with consistent, systematic checks. Such findings suggest an urgent need for a time-limited moratorium while safeguards are strengthened.
We respectfully urge you to order an immediate pause on new endangered-animal import permits for zoos and rescue centres, pending a detailed compliance plan. That plan should mandate cross-verification with exporting management authorities before any permit code changes, a public registry of all import permits with origin and purpose codes, independent third-party audits, retroactive reviews of reportedly irregular consignments, and clear refusal procedures where codes or provenance cannot be verified. Swift, transparent reforms would align India’s practice with CITES obligations and help ensure that vulnerable species are not exposed to allegedly illegal or mislabelled trade.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Yathin S Krishnappa
