In the recent decades, there has been a perceptible rise in the number of people keeping pet animals/birds and exotic species but there has been a stark lack of any regulatory or legislative framework concerning exotic species which has led to the uncontrolled trade in exotic animals. The matter is of important nature having ramifications wherever pets are being kept and/or traded. There are several instances of confiscated exotic animals dying in the custody of authorities. However, they are not widely reported due to the lack of information in routine, governmental matters and also because many of the remaining animals are returned to their owners if some of these animals die. There is also a clear lack of legislation in this regard due to which these exotic animals and their owners are unnecessary harassed. In this article we analyse the legislative framework for exotic species in India and why we need an enactment for their regulation.
