Is it illegal to have parrots as pets in india?
All the ‘wild forms’ of the 12 native species are illegal to keep in India. But traders sell color mutations of at least three species- Ringnecks, Alexandrines and Plum heads in India. The law is not clear on whether this is legal or not, i.e it does not say it is legal neither does it say it is illegal and can be interpreted both ways by people giving equally valid arguements.People who keep these birds have often been harassed. Besides these twelve species, other exotic captive bred species like Cockatiels, Bourke’s Parrot, Sun conure are legal to keep, buy and sell. But the problem with some of the exotic pets is that there are no qualified avian veterinarians in most places in India including metros and if the bird falls ill, you can’t take good care of him/her. So all in all a parrot is a bad choice as a pet for pet lovers in India though people with commercial interests in selling them may tell you otherwise.
