An official CITES report highlights a problematic transfer of chimpanzees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to India. Amid documentary gaps, unclear traceability, and accusations of “laundering” under the guise of “rescue,” the case raises a major question: who truly benefits from Congo’s endangered wildlife? For the independent media outlet Kilalopress, this article examines the mechanics of what could be called “disguised trade” and challenges Congolese authorities on their role in what must now be considered a state affair.
Under the pretext of “rescue” and “zoological cooperation,” nine Congolese chimpanzees were sent from the DRC to India. Yet a damning CITES report, published after its 79th meeting, exposes a transfer riddled with irregularities and administrative falsehoods. At the center of the scandal are the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) and India’s Vantara Sanctuary, the green showcase of billionaire Mukesh Ambani.https://cites.org/sites/default/files/documents/E-SC79-06-03-04.pdf
In official CITES documents, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is listed as the exporting country of nine chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) destined for the Gujarat Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (GZRRC), better known as Vantara Sanctuary. The stated purpose: “animal welfare and conservation.” But the CITES report (SC79 Doc.6.3.4) reveals a series of troubling anomalies in the process. First, the internal transfer of chimpanzees from Buta to Kinshasa Zoo occurred only after the export permit was issued. In other words, the ICCN signed the document without even knowing which animals would actually be sent. Additionally, another internal note mentions twelve chimpanzees from the Lwiro Centre supposedly headed to Kinshasa, a move that was ultimately never carried out. This total lack of clarity raises a grave doubt: the exported animals may have come directly from the wild.
Officially, the DRC certified that these chimpanzees were born in captivity, using the “C” code on the export permit. However, according to Resolution Conf. 10.16 (Rev. CoP19), this code is only valid if reproduction across at least two generations (F2) in a controlled environment can be proven. No genetic records, veterinary certificates, or birth registers were provided. The CITES report underscores this inconsistency: “The fact that an animal is held in captivity is not sufficient to justify the use of code C.” In short, the DRC and India disguised an illegal export as a conservation operation. This administrative lie transformed wild-caught animals into “captive-bred specimens” legally recognized on paper.
As the CITES management authority in the DRC, the ICCN was supposed to ensure the legality and traceability of the specimens. Yet the report reveals a complete absence of control: no clear traceability between Buta, Kinshasa, and Lwiro; no independent audit of the chimpanzees’ origin; and a hastily approved export permit favoring a foreign private actor. For an institution meant to protect Congolese wildlife, this negligence borders on complicity. CITES is now pressuring the DRC to provide explanations. Meanwhile, in Kinshasa, the ICCN’s silence speaks volumes: the case is sensitive because it exposes the fragility of the control system and the temptation of easy money.
Vantara Sanctuary, owned by the Reliance Industries conglomerate, has positioned itself as Asia’s most publicized “eco-refuge.” Yet behind the rhetoric of animal compassion, CITES notes a series of imports from countries that do not even host these species in the wild: Iraq, Syria, Haiti, Kuwait, Egypt… A genuine parallel circuit of exotic animals, rebranded as “humanitarian rescues.” By accepting these shipments without independent verification, India becomes complicit in large-scale ecological laundering. Beneath the veneer of a modern sanctuary, Vantara operates as a prestige showcase, using conservation to bolster the image of an industrial empire.
This affair goes beyond the DRC: it exposes a systemic weakness in CITES enforcement. When weakened African institutions validate dubious documents, they pave the way for a new kind of plunder: the legal transfer of wild species under the guise of rescue. It is ecological neocolonialism: instead of looting minerals, living wildlife is exported with administrative blessing.
Congolese NGOs are already demanding an independent investigation and the suspension of all transfers of protected species to India. They call for reaffirming Congo’s ecological sovereignty, insisting on ICCN transparency and accountability for this masked trafficking. Behind every chimpanzee sent abroad is a fragment of the country’s living heritage traded for diplomatic promises and thoughtless signatures. This CITES report does more than expose a scandal: it lays bare a system where conservation becomes a market, sanctuaries become displays of power, and Congolese wildlife is treated as currency. Until the Congo fully reclaims control over its biodiversity, more Vantaras will emerge, more secret deals will be written, and our forests will continue to be stripped under the guise of “international cooperation.”
By Kilalopress
