Exotic pets in India: negotiating their place in a foreign home

Abstract

Non-human animals are often categorized as native or exotic—a result of the enactment of nationhood. This determines whether they are protected or fair game for ownership/trade. In India the absence of laws for exotic species within national borders allowed the exotic pet trade to flourish indiscriminately.

Now, India seeks to regulate the exotic pet trade to improve CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) implementation. The new law has resulted in suspicion and misinformation among pet owners. On the other hand, in an example of blind compliance with laws protecting native wildlife, a free-flying sarus crane has ended up in a zoo and its human rescuer faces criminal charges for ‘owning’ the bird.

Drawing on observation, interviews and case study analyses, I argue that while this intervention may disrupt the global network of wildlife trafficking, it has inherent problems. The reliance on country-specific laws and negative lists (which afford selective and hierarchy-based protection), the ‘othering’ of animals based on man-made borders, the top–down implementation, and the treatment of animals as tradeable entities all raise concerns about recognizing animal subjectivity and interspecies justice.

If these instruments are to stay, the goal is to identify gaps in their execution so that the rights and welfare of exotic pets—who are often overlooked in urban society—may be safeguarded. It is important to ask: what happens to ‘alien’ animals already occupying spaces of urban captivity? What happens to the connections formed between people and these animals?