Which Pets Are Legal in India?
Native species are protected. Buying one in a market does not change that, and the open sale is itself an offence.
Last checked 2026-08-09
This page publishes no prices for animals. The searches that lead here are usually price searches, and that is the point. This is the page that exists instead of one.
How the law works
- The Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 protects native Indian wild species. Section 9 prohibits hunting of protected animals, and Section 2(16) defines hunting to include capturing, trapping, snaring and baiting, not only killing. So taking a native bird from a nest is hunting under the Act.
- Section 39 makes protected wild animals government property. Section 40 bars anyone from acquiring, receiving, keeping, selling or transporting a protected captive animal without written permission from the Chief Wild Life Warden.
- That combination is why buying a native species does not make keeping it lawful. Money changing hands does not create a right, and an animal already in captivity when you got it does not change its status.
- Section 51 makes contravention punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine up to one lakh rupees or both, and offences involving the most protected animals carry a minimum of three years and up to seven.
- The Act covers native species. Genuinely non-native species are not protected by it, which is why a budgerigar is a different legal question from an Indian parakeet even though both are small parrots. Non-native animals are instead regulated through import rules and, where the species is CITES listed, through that convention.
- The 2022 amendment reorganised the schedules with effect from 1 April 2023, leaving four where there were six. Schedule I carries the highest protection, Schedule II covers other protected animals, Schedule III is specified plants rather than animals at all, and Schedule IV reproduces the CITES appendices. This is why you will find flatly contradictory schedule numbers online, and even on government pages: a central government site archived in late 2025 still described sambar as Schedule III, which was correct before April 2023 and is wrong now.
- Where a species sits in Schedule I or II and also appears in Schedule IV through CITES, Section 49R makes the Schedule I or II regime prevail. That is the practical reason an Indian star tortoise has no registration route open to it at all, while a non-native tortoise listed only through CITES may have one.
- Where you already hold an animal you should not, speak to your State Chief Wild Life Warden rather than to a shop or a forum. Do not release a captive animal into the wild. It is usually unlawful, and a captive-raised animal released into habitat it does not know generally dies.
Not lawful to keep
Not lawful to keep
The most commonly kept illegal pet in India by a wide margin. They are sold openly in markets across the country, which is itself an offence rather than evidence that keeping one is allowed. There is a trap here worth understanding: CITES specifically exempts the rose ringed parakeet from its appendices, so a seller can tell you truthfully that it is not CITES restricted. It is still protected in India, because it is native and Indian law is what applies to you. If you have one, contact your State Chief Wild Life Warden or an established rescue rather than releasing it yourself.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, listed in Schedule II
Not lawful to keep
The hill myna sits in Schedule I, the highest tier of protection, which surprises people who think of it as an ordinary cage bird. Keeping one carries the aggravated penalty band rather than the general one. Talking ability is the reason it is trapped, and trapping is what the Act defines as hunting.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, with the hill myna in Schedule I
Not lawful to keep
Trade spikes around Diwali because of superstition attached to them. Keeping, buying or transporting one is an offence.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972
Not lawful to keep
Heavily trafficked and widely sold as a supposedly lucky pet. Protected as a native species, and international trade is separately restricted under CITES. A Lok Sabha answer confirms illegal trading is punishable under the Act.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, and CITES listed
Not lawful to keep
Frequently sold in aquarium shops alongside legal fish. Native freshwater turtles are protected and cannot be kept.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972
Not lawful to keep
Protected. Also poached for skin and for superstition based uses.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972
Not lawful to keep
The otter pet trend spread from videos made in countries with different laws. All Indian otter species are protected and keeping one is an offence.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972
Not lawful to keep
Includes the common palm squirrel that people hand rear after finding a fallen nestling. Raising an orphan and handing it to a rehabilitator is a different situation from keeping it, and the second is not lawful.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972
Not lawful to keep
Protected. Also killed for hair used in paintbrushes, a trade that is itself an offence.
Native species protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972
Not lawful to keep
Species matters here more than with most groups, and identification is genuinely difficult. If you cannot establish that a specimen is a non-native species that was lawfully imported, assume it is not lawful to keep.
Several Indian tarantula species are protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972
Lawful
Lawful
Lawful everywhere in India. Most municipalities require a licence and proof of rabies vaccination. Adoption is free and shelters across the country are full.
Domesticated species, not covered by the Wild Life (Protection) Act
Lawful
Lawful. Note that hybrid breeds crossed with wild cat species raise separate questions and are not simply domestic cats in law.
Domesticated species, not covered by the Wild Life (Protection) Act
Lawful
These are the birds commonly kept lawfully in India, because none is native here. The distinction that matters is native versus non-native rather than caged versus wild. A budgerigar is lawful and a rose ringed parakeet is not, even though both are parrots in a cage.
Non-native species, outside the scope of the Wild Life (Protection) Act
Lawful
Lawful. Native Indian freshwater species taken from the wild are a different matter, and some are protected.
Non-native species, outside the scope of the Wild Life (Protection) Act
Lawful
Lawful. All three suffer badly in Indian summer heat without cooling, which is a welfare question rather than a legal one.
Non-native domesticated species, outside the scope of the Wild Life (Protection) Act
Where we could not establish the position
Depends, and we could not verify
The Act does not protect these because they are not native, so the question moves to whether the animal entered the country lawfully and whether the species is CITES listed. India has run declaration processes for owners of exotic live species. We could not verify the current process from a first-party government source while compiling this, so treat the position as unresolved and ask your State Chief Wild Life Warden rather than a seller.
Not protected by the Wild Life (Protection) Act as non-native species, but regulated through import rules and CITES
Depends, and we could not verify
This one depends entirely on paperwork, and getting it wrong is more serious than most people realise. The bird is not native, so the Act does not protect it the way it protects a parakeet. It is CITES Appendix I, and the 2022 amendment specifically attached the aggravated penalty band, three to seven years, to Appendix I specimens. So a documented bird from a lawful source is a different thing entirely from an undocumented one, and the difference is not a fine. Ask to see the import and captive breeding documentation before money changes hands, and ask your State Chief Wild Life Warden if you already hold one and cannot produce it.
Not native, so outside the Wild Life (Protection) Act as a protected species, but listed in CITES Appendix I which the 2022 amendment brought into Schedule IV
Depends, and we could not verify
Widely described online as banned in India, and we could not verify that. Searching the consolidated Act text for this species returns nothing, and it appears in no schedule. Section 62A allows the central government to declare an invasive alien species by notification, and we could not find a notification naming it, so we are not going to tell you either that it is banned or that it is fine. What is not in doubt is the ecological problem. It is among the world's most invasive freshwater turtles, it outcompetes native turtles, and it turns up in Indian lakes because people release them once they outgrow a tank. Whatever the legal position, releasing one into a lake or river is the harmful act. If you cannot keep it, ask a rescue rather than a water body.
Not native, and we could not locate it in any schedule of the Act or in a notification under Section 62A
If you already have one
Most people holding a protected species bought it in a market believing that made it fine. Reading this page is not a reason to panic, and it is a reason to act.
Do not release the animal yourself. A bird raised in a cage has not learned to find food or avoid predators and will usually die, and an animal kept alongside other pets can carry disease into a wild population. Release is a decision for people who can assess whether the animal is releasable at all.
The statutory authority is the Chief Wild Life Warden of your state, and that office is where the legal position gets settled. The organisations below are the practical first call, because they answer the phone, have a vehicle, and can house an animal while that happens.
These are wildlife rescue organisations rather than the authority. Every number was checked against the organisation’s own site and last verified on 2026-08-09. Where your city is not listed, ring the nearest one and ask who covers your area, which is a question they are used to.
Questions people ask
Is it legal to keep a parrot as a pet in India?
Not if it is a native Indian species such as a rose ringed or Alexandrine parakeet. Those are protected under the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 and keeping one is an offence. Non-native parrots such as budgerigars, cockatiels and lovebirds are lawful, because the Act protects native wildlife rather than caged birds in general.
They sell these birds openly in the market. How is that illegal?
The open sale is itself an offence. Enforcement is patchy, which is not the same as the activity being lawful. Buying an animal does not create a right to keep it, and Section 40 bars acquiring, receiving or keeping a protected animal without written permission from the Chief Wild Life Warden.
Can I keep an Indian star tortoise?
No. It is a protected native species and it is also CITES listed, so international trade is separately restricted. It is one of the most trafficked animals in India precisely because it is sold as a lucky pet.
What happens if I already have one?
Speak to your State Chief Wild Life Warden, or to an established wildlife rescue that can advise. Do not release the animal yourself. Releasing a captive raised animal is usually unlawful and it generally dies, because it does not know the habitat or how to feed in it.
What is the punishment for keeping a protected species?
Section 51 of the Act provides for up to three years in prison or a fine up to one lakh rupees or both. For offences involving the most protected animals, a minimum of three years and up to seven.
The seller says it is not CITES listed, so it is fine. Is it?
That can be true and beside the point. CITES specifically exempts the rose ringed parakeet from its appendices, so a seller can tell you honestly that it carries no CITES restriction. It is still protected in India under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, because it is native, and Indian law is the law that applies to you. Ask whether the species is native to India, which is the question that decides it.
Is an African grey parrot legal to keep in India?
It depends on documentation, and the stakes are higher than most people expect. The bird is not native, so the Act does not protect it the way it protects an Indian parakeet. It is CITES Appendix I, and the 2022 amendment attached the aggravated penalty band of three to seven years to Appendix I specimens. A documented bird from a lawful captive breeding source is a very different position from an undocumented one. See the paperwork before you pay.
Are exotic imported animals legal in India?
The Wild Life (Protection) Act does not protect non-native species, so the question becomes whether the animal entered the country lawfully and whether the species is CITES listed. India has run declaration processes for owners of exotic live species. We could not verify the current process from a first-party government source, so ask your State Chief Wild Life Warden rather than a seller.
The wider legal picture
The Wild Life (Protection) Act sits alongside the PCA Act, the ABC Rules and municipal bye-laws, and they do not always agree with each other.