To control smuggling, registration of exotic birds, animals mandatory now

Aksheev Thakur

New Delhi, March 6

To control trade in products derived from various parts of wild animals and prevent illegal possession of exotic species, the government has made it mandatory for people to register with the environment ministry if they possess living specimens of animals listed in Schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act, 2022. Many of these animals, such as iguanas, lemurs, civets, albino monkeys, coral snakes and tortoises, are included in the list.

The government on Wednesday announced the notification of Section 49 M of the Wildlife Protection Act, which provides a legal framework for the protection of various species of wild animals and the management of their habitat. “All people possessing a living specimen of such animal species are required to apply for registration within a period of six months from the date of commencement of these rules and, thereafter, within 30 days of possession of such animal species to the State Chief Wild Life Warden concerned through the Parivesh 2.0 portal. Any transfer of possession and birth of offspring of such specimens should be registered as well as deaths reported to the Chief Wildlife Warden,” the environment ministry said.

Post registration, the Chief Wildlife Warden will issue an online certificate of possession of these species. This will also allow the forest department free access for verification.

Captive breeding of exotic species was not regulated earlier, till the recent amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2022. This resulted in the illegal trade of several exotic species and their parts.

In 2023, over 400 caged exotic animals, including three-toed sloths, beavers, snakes, rare lizards and pottos, were seized in Mizoram. In the same year, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s (DRI) Mumbai Zonal Unit had seized 306 live exotic animals that were being allegedly smuggled into India from Thailand.

Lguanas, lemurs on list

Iguanas, lemurs, civets, albino monkeys, coral snakes and tortoises are among listed as exotic under Schedule IV of Wildlife Protection Act, 2022