Indore’s love for exotic household pets growing

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The love for pets has multiplied since the lockdown and almost every other household has a pet of some sort. Many prefer to having aquariums over enthusiastic mates like dogs. Among these families, the trend of having exotic birds is rising in the city. Exotic pets—especially birds—fetch more customers. With that, Indore has seen a growth in the exotic pet trade.

However, out of over a lakh of exotic pets bought in the city, only a few hundred have been registered. Even though it is legally allowed to keep exotic animals as pets, it is compulsory to register these pets and declare where they were bought.

“We keep coming across people who want to keep turtles, birds and other exotic animals as pets, but they don’t get them registered,” divisional forest officer Narendra Pandwa said. He cited the last case, in which a tantrik living on No. 4 Street of Akhand Nagar had kept two pet turtles.

“Tantrik Ajay Mishra used to make people worship turtles to bring Lakshmi, a symbol of luxury and wealth, to the household,” said AK Shrivastava, sub-divisional officer. He added that this was one of the few cases that were detected. But, many a time, people keep exotic pets and do not register them. However, it is necessary for people to register their exotic animals even on the official portal.

In India, according to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, exotic birds that are not native to India can be kept as pets, while local birds are categorised under ‘wild animals’ and are illegal to keep as pets.

The forest department raised an alert to all officials and issued a public notice to register people’s exotic pets as soon as possible.

What animals are allowed to be kept as pets?

§ Dogs

§ Cats

§ Poultry

§ Some varieties of birds (Pigeons, Parrots, Budgerigars, Finches)

§ Fishes reared in aquariums

§ Horses

§ Pigs

§ Rabbits

§ Ponies

§ Cattle

Strictly prohibited/forbidden to be kept as pets:

§ Rodents

§ Turtles

§ Birds like Parakeets

§ Bears

Why is it important to register exotic pets?

This information collected for registration is critical for ensuring that no illegal trading was a part of the securing process. Further, after registration, the forest department can keep a check on the survival of exotic animals

How to register exotic pets?

People who own exotic birds or animals are advised to register on the following website: www.parivesh.nic.in. The chief wildlife warden of states will issue the ownership certificate

Step 1: A home page of the PARIVESH portal will appear

Step 2: Click on ‘New Registration (Registration/ Login)’ tab

Step 3: Carefully fill the form and upload the necessary documents proving ownership of the exotic animal