Vantara announces members of its new independent Governing Council
Jamnagar Septembe, r 4
Vantara has announced the members of its newly formed independent Governing Council, which will oversee its conservation, animal rescue and compliance work.
The five-member council, along with one ex officio member, will take the final decision on any future applications to import wild animals and help set Vantara's plans for the next five years and beyond.
John E. Scanlon AO, former Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), will serve as the independent Chair. His appointment was announced in August 2026.
The other voting members of the council are former Supreme Court judge Justice Krishna Murari; Craig Hoover, Executive Vice President of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA); Subhash K. Malkhede, former Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka; and conservation expert Greta F. Iori.
Hoover will begin his term in January 2027 after completing his tenure with AZA.
Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma, an Indian wildlife veterinarian and elephant specialist, will serve as an ex officio, non-voting member. He was formerly Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery and Radiology at the College of Veterinary Science, Guwahati.
According to Vantara, the council members will serve in their personal capacity, while Vantara employees cannot be voting members of the council.
Speaking about the new council, John Scanlon said it would have a key role in setting Vantara's future plans and ensuring that its recent governance changes are put into practice.
"The Governing Council has a central role to play in setting the future vision for Vantara and in ensuring it embeds recently announced changes into its daily operations. With these appointments, we are bringing in people with outstanding professional credentials, extensive experience, and exemplary personal credibility. It's an exceptional team that blends deep expertise from within India and globally. We will work diligently together to make a lasting, transformative positive impact for wildlife conservation, and look forward to engaging with Vantara staff and the conservation community in our work," Scanlon said as per a release.
Vantara CEO Vivaan Karani said the council would help ensure independent oversight of the organisation's work and its commitments to the Indian CITES Management Authority.
"I welcome the members of the Governing Council, who will play an instrumental role in setting our future vision and in ensuring that Vantara is held to the highest standards as we advance science-led conservation. The independent authority of the Council is central to our efforts to fully implement the commitments made in our letter to the Indian CITES Management Authority last month, and to ensuring Vantara's decisions are subject to rigorous and independent oversight."
The Governing Council is Vantara's peak governing body, and it has overall responsibility for supervising Vantara's conservation, rescue and rehabilitation work, its compliance with Indian law, CITES and other international agreements, and in helping set its vision for the next five years and beyond. Further, as set out in Vantara's recently announced governance reforms, no application to import an animal will be made before 5 June 2027. Thereafter, the commitments not to apply to import an animal in certain circumstances will apply, and no application may be advanced without the Council's prior written approval, which will follow an internal due diligence process.
The establishment of the Governing Council is part of Vantara's wider voluntary commitments to strengthen transparency, due diligence and operating practices, emphasising adherence to CITES, shifting focus towards supporting wildlife in their range states, and prioritising rescue, rehabilitation and conservation within India.
The Council will continually review progress against Vantara's letter to the Indian CITES Management Authority of 19 August 2026 to ensure full implementation of the commitments therein.
The Council is supported by the new CITES Due Diligence Committee and the Advisory Board, as well as the Special Director and the Office of Compliance and Due Diligence, each of which is described in Vantara's letter to the Indian CITES Management Authority.
— ANI
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