Many people spend lots of money to purchase and acquire exotic animals, such as alligators, rare birds, exotic tortoises, venomous snakes, and iguanas.
According to the Union environment ministry’s Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules,2024, those who own exotic pets will need to register them with the state wildlife department.For other wildlife that is already protected by the Wildlife Protection Act and is not permitted to be maintained in captivity, these regulations do not apply.
In an effort to formalize and expedite the importation of live exotic animals, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) issued an advisory on June 1, 2020.Importing and disclosing exotic animals and their offspring that are already in India is covered under the advisory.
In order to import a live exotic animal, a person must apply for a license from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade or DGFT in accordance with the guidelines in the advice. Along with the application, the importer must include a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the state’s chief wildlife warden.
Those who have already imported exotic animals will need to make a statement within six months, but they won’t need to submit information on where the animal came from. However, documentation will need to be produced if the declaration is made after six months.
