Some friends are rare

Manpriya Singh 

Advertisement

Funny ironies of human nature; sometimes it is about fitting in and at other times, about standing out. About following some trends or breaking some rules.  Not that cats and dogs will ever be passé, but rare pets invite awe that is hard to find when you own a, let’s say, German Shepherd. When it comes to breeds of dogs, or pet itself, the rarer the better!  

Scare factor

“People are really scared when they see Roxy and Pyson,” shares city-based shop owner Vinod Kumar aka Sonu, who has a strong affinity for pets. Roxy and Pyson are his latest acquisition, two Iguanas that give creeps to a lot of visitors!  He laughs, “They are rare, they look good and the funny part is while they scare a lot of people away, the truth is that they themselves are really scared of us.” Things have changed for the four-month-old creatures from the lizard family. “Now they have started eating from my hand and very soon I am confident enough to be able to train them to roam around with me.” Food for the two means just a few twigs of coriander, a little cherry tomato. 

Hide-and-seek

That’s not really the case with 20-year-old Tanya Verma’s four-year-old guinea pig, Bunny. “He needs food every three-four hours and squeaks when he is hungry. He loves cucumber,” adds the fond owner. There is quite an element of drama behind how Bunny came into the house? “As a child, I once had a dog that died in a car accident, since then pets have been a big no in the house, also because dogs are tough to maintain in apartments. So once my mother was on vacation, I went and bought a guinea pig for all of Rs 800 to Rs 1000,” she laughs.  What happened thereafter is no less dramatic either, but she chooses to spare us the details. “But the truth is my mother grew fond of the guinea pig, more than any of us and she literally took after Bunny’s care.” 

While dogs are almost legendary when it comes to seeking intelligence and loyalty, she feels we haven’t explored other legal pets enough. “Guinea pigs are intelligent, they know which part of the house they are permitted to go and which part of the house is restricted. Once the rules are set, they hide in the dark places and play hide-and-seek.”  She became open to the idea only once inspired by a friend who owned a hamster.  

Fun factor

City-based government employee Shankul Sharma was thinking of the ease of owning a small pet and so he brought home two imported Bantam hens. “I liked them, their size was small and they are rare.” Only now all of that has translated to the fact that they are fun. “If you have feed in your hand, they chirpily walk behind you. They can eat everything but in small quantities; they eat worms too from the ground.”  What adds to the fun factor is the reaction of people. “They have never seen anything like them before. It’s of interest and curiosity.” 

It’s a grey area

Exotic pet trade is big business across the world. And like with all big businesses, it comes riddled with horrors of cruelty towards animals during transportation, auction and trade. Not to forget the illegal trade that sponsors the likes of drug trade and terrorism. 

The government regulations remain poorly enforced, so it is important to find out about the source of the animal and the circumstances under which it was bred, captive bred or wild caught.  “It’s not ethical to own wild animals even if it is legal since their basic needs are not met in a civil habitat.  Not to forget the cruel captive breeding practices and some of them may be unhealthy for human contact,” shares a city-based animal activist refusing to be named.  While you are on a checking spree it also makes sense to check the certificate of registration of pet shop owner. 

Tortoise, turtles and reptiles 

Some species of tortoise are just not legal to own in India. The Indian Star Tortoise being a specific case in point.  Since most of us can’t really differentiate between the various species of tortoise, it’s better to look for other pets than get misled into buying something illegal. 

Squirrels 

Not so rare, but not so common either. While it may be hard to imagine squirrel being an endangered species, given they are all around us, they are not legal to own in India. Unless of course it’s a squirrel not of Indian origin and has been registered as a pet with the local authorities! 

The birds 

Almost all the species of Indian birds are covered and protected under the exhaustive Wildlife Protection Act in India, which means caging of Indian birds is illegal in India. However, since the exotic and foreign birds don’t really fall under this category, that gives ample leeway to ‘exotic junkies’. 

Guinea pigs are intelligent, they know which part of the house they are permitted to go and which part is restricted. Once the rules are set, they hide in the dark places and play hide-and-seek. Tanya Verma

I liked bantam hens, their size was small and they are rare. If you have feed in your hand, they chirpily walk behind you. They can eat everything but in small quantities; they eat worms too from the ground. People have never seen anything like them before. It’s of interest and curiosity. Shankul Sharma