Bengaluru: India’s exotic pet industry has boomed in recent years, but our laws have not kept pace, finds a new report that looked at pet trade, policy and regulations in India.The report, titled ‘Safeguarding Biodiversity and Public Health, A legislative and policy analysis of exotic pet trade in India’ and authored by the Humane World for Animals India Foundation and independent wildlife trade researcher Kritika Balaji says that while India’s legislations to monitor and regulate trade in exotic species have expanded, implementation remains “fragmented”. The report notes that coordination across agencies needs to be stronger as “regulatory oversight” is a major concern – due to issues such as zoonoses (diseases that animals can transmit to humans) and more. India’s exotic pet industry has boomedA staggering US $ 42.6 million: that was the estimated value of India’s exotic pet market in 2024. This number is expected to rise to US $ 75.8 million by 2030. As of February 2021, 40,000 individuals across 30 states and union territories had registered their possession of exotic pets under the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) – launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2020. Two rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), native to Sub-saharan African and parts of the Middle East, seized in Mumbai Airport in 2025. Photo: Pawan Sharma, RAWW.But this pertains to only legal trade; India also has a thriving subterranean, illegal trade in non-native animals imported from other countries. The Wildlife Trust of India documented a total of 202 incidents involving wildlife crime based on media reports between April and December 2025 alone. Of these, 151 cases involved hunting, attempted hunting and illegal entry into protected areas or illegal trade of native wildlife species, and 51 involved attempts to smuggle live exotic wildlife for the pet trade mostly from Southeast Asian countries.Wildlife trade researcher Balaji and the NGO Humane World for Animals India Foundation compiled a legal and policy analysis by examining current national laws, rules, notifications, and other policies regulating exotic wildlife trade in India, along with legislation that can and should mitigate its impacts (public health risks, invasive species threats, animal welfare concerns, and infrastructure challenges). The team also relied on published literature and their own experiences working in the field.Per this report released on July 1, seizures (or confiscations) of live wildlife in India indicate two primary routes. One is by land: through northeast India’s borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar. Another is by air, via major international airports; Chennai International Airport, Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai stand out as they are major transit points which also act as domestic redistribution hubs.“In recent years, there has been a notable rise in individuals keeping exotic animals at volumes verging on private zoo-scale collections,” the report noted.More than 10,000 red-eared sliders seized in Kolkata Airport in 2013. Photo: Anirban ChaudhariGaps in India’s regulationsBut despite the exotic pet trade industry booming in India, India’s laws and regulations remain ill-equipped to monitor and regulate this, per the report.“Our analysis reveals that while the WLPA amendments introduced significant reforms to regulate trade in CITES-listed exotic species, critical gaps persist,” the report read.The main gaps pertain to zoonotic disease risks across the entire trade chain (including for households that host these pets), escaped or released pets establishing invasive populations, institutional overload for rescue facilities and zoos in the lifetime management of seized animals, and issues with animal welfare for species in captivity, especially those unsuited to private ownership – such as non-human primates (gibbons, orangutans, etc).The report notes that India’s laws do not insist on any mandatory health standards for exotic pets once they are imported, though vaccination, testing, and quarantine requirements exist at ports of entry. So the only veterinary health records for these animals remain in import, registration, and clinical databases. Even if veterinarians treat exotic animals, laws do not require them to flag suspected zoonotic infections, the report noted.Frontline staff face significant exposure risk because enforcement and rescue personnel routinely handle seized animals without PPE, biosecurity protocols, or species-specific training – something that Balaji and the Foundation found through their experiences of collaborating with the Forest Department and hearing or seeing first-hand the capacity and infrastructure challenges they face, said Balaji. In terms of controlling invasive species, there are no comprehensive lists of species that are invasive in India. Though the Livestock Importation Act, 1898 and the Customs Act, 1962 address disease transmission, they do not provide any mechanism to prevent ecologically harmful introductions, the report noted.Servals seized in Mizoram in 2022. Photo: By arrangement“Section 62A of the WLPA empowers the Central Government to regulate or prohibit trade in species identified as invasive. Exotic pets represent a formidable pathway for biological invasions. We can leverage this section to formally declare invasive exotic species, prohibiting their import and domestic trade. This would be a significant step toward preventing the further establishment of invasive populations,” Balaji told The Wire.CITES and non-CITES speciesThen there is the issue of species that are not listed under CITES and are permitted to be traded. While the recent Amendment to WLPA brought CITES-listed species under its purview, a substantial proportion of species traded do not fall under this, according to Balaji. “Red-eared sliders [a species of terrapin] exemplify this gap. They are not listed in CITES Appendices because trade has not been found to threaten their wild populations, and they breed quite easily in captivity. But in India (and across the world), they have become one of the most invasive species, established across water bodies nationwide, and competing with and displacing native wildlife. They carry a whole suite of pathogens, including Salmonella and other harmful bacteria, which can be transmitted to native wildlife and pet owners.”Many other non-CITES species such as squirrels, raccoons and meerkats have also found their way into Indian markets and homes, she noted. While they may seem cute and cuddly, many of these animals carry pathogens and diseases that can be transmitted to humans, she said. Also read: After Vantara Visit, CITES Raps India, Says ‘No More Imports’ of Endangered Wildlife Until Compliance“We must remember that CITES is a mechanism designed to regulate global commerce in wildlife. While well-intentioned in preventing detrimental trade in wildlife (by way of population decline), it is not a panacea, and is meant to work alongside national legislation,” Balaji said. India has to consider local contexts and consequences to draft requisite national species legislation, while being compliant with CITES, she pointed out.Gibbons rescued from wildlife trade in India. Photo: By arrangementLevels of animal imports ‘unprecedented’“We are at a critical and unprecedented stage with the sheer volume and diversity of exotic species being smuggled into the country, primarily for private ownership as pets. We are seeing everything from rare birds and apes, to invasive reptiles, to whatever is considered “trendy” in the global market,” Balaji said. Though the Amendment to the WLPA has provided some mechanisms and protocols for oversight of CITES-listed species, there is no legal framework to fundamentally question whether specific exotic species should be kept in the country at all, she added. “Are they biologically and socially suited for captivity? Can and should they be bred in captivity? Do they pose invasive risks if released into our ecosystems? What are the public health implications of keeping them in close contact with humans and domestic animals? To what extent does pet keeping threaten their survival in the wild? To me this is a priority,” she told The Wire. Currently the onus is on the Forest Departments of each state to verify and grant permission on a case-by-case basis, said Balaji. “But this reactive approach cannot address the scale and complexity of what is entering the country. We need to decide, through legislation, the extent to which we allow the trade,” she added.Among the numerous recommendations that the report makes is that India develop a National Surrender Policy for exotic animals that owners can no longer care for; operationalise Section 62A of the WLPA to regulate trade in invasive species; expand quarantine infrastructure at land borders (Indo-Myanmar, Indo-Bangladesh) and secondary international airports; expand the mandate of the National One Health Mission to formally include risks from exotic wildlife trade as well, and standardise exotic animal repatriation efforts across jurisdictions.