Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) asked people, organisations and zoos to register any exotic animals in their possession that are listed under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (Amendment Act, 2022).
Registration should be done electronically through PARIVESH 2.0 portal and submitted to the Chief Wildlife Warden of the concerned State.
Key facts regarding exotic species:
Exotic species are those animal or plant species that are brought from their native area (s) to the new area. These species are often brought to a new location by people.
Examples of exotic animals:
Ball Python (West Africa) Iguana (Central and South America) Cockatiel (Australia) Red-eared Slider Turtle (America and Mexico) African Grey Parrot (Central Africa) Amazonian Parrot (South and Central America) etc are examples of exotic animals in India.
The legal requirements:
As per the Living Animal Species (Reporting and Registration) Rules, 2024, any person possessing a species listed in Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 will have to report and register that species.
The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 introduced Section 49M, which provides for registration of conservation, transfer, registration of births and reporting of deaths of species listed in CITES Appendix and Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Concerns related to exotic species:
Non-regulation:
Exotic species are imported into India and bred in captivity without proper registration, which may pose a risk of zoonotic diseases.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which is a zoonotic disease, has drawn attention to the dangers of unregulated trade and ownership of exotic animals.
Smuggling of exotic animals:
Activists have raised concerns about the increasing smuggling of endangered exotic animals from South-East Asia and other regions into India.
There has been a significant increase in cases related to possession of exotic animals, especially in Assam and Mizoram where species like Kangaroo (Australia), Koala (Australia) and Lemur (Madagascar) have been captured and temporarily kept in zoos.
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972:
It aims to protect wildlife, birds and plants and address related issues to ensure ecological and environmental sustainability of the country.
Schedule to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972:
The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 is followed by four schedules in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Schedule I: For species that have the highest level of protection. For example, tiger, elephant, rhinoceros, etc.
Schedule II: for species that are less protected. For example, eagles, hawks, prinias, etc.
Schedule III: for plant species.
Schedule IV: Protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Such as bear.
CITES is an international agreement aimed at ensuring that the survival of species is not threatened by international trade in wild animal and plant specimens.
Environment 2.0 Portal:
Environment 2.0 is a web-based application for online submission and monitoring of Environment, Forest, Wildlife and Coastal Regulation Zone clearances.
PARIVESH means Active and Responsive Facility by Interactive, Virtuous and Environmental Single Window Hub.
Ministry:
It is developed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Function:
It provides a comprehensive single window solution for administration of all green clearances and monitoring their compliance across the country.
Process change, technology change and domain knowledge intervention are the key drivers behind the design of the new Ambience 2.0 portal.
