Bengaluru Emerges as Major Hub for Exotic Wildlife Trade, NIAS Study Finds

Bengaluru has emerged as a major redistribution and transit hub for India's growing exotic wildlife trade, according to a policy brief by the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in collaboration with Humane World for Animals India.

The study analysed seizure reports, media coverage, and enforcement data spanning 2005 to 2025. It found that while primary international entry points include Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi, Bengaluru has increasingly served as a key redistribution centre since 2022, with animals arriving through air cargo and courier networks.

The animals originate from Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the United States. Species documented in the trade range from African grey parrots, macaws, and cockatoos to star tortoises, ball pythons, iguanas, bearded dragons, monitor lizards, tarantulas, scorpions, and small primates such as marmosets, lemurs, and capuchin monkeys.

Sindhu Radhakrishna, a professor at NIAS who heads the Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, noted that Southeast Asia serves as a massive source market, with Chennai and Bengaluru functioning as redistribution hubs for southern India. She pointed out that while traditional demand persists for tortoises and lorises, recent social media trends have driven an increase in demand for smaller primates.

Although the 2022 amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act brought species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) under domestic regulation, enforcement gaps remain. Gaps in documentation and record-keeping allow traders to pass off undocumented animals as legally declared pets. The trade has also shifted significantly to online grey markets on social media platforms, where enforcement remains difficult.

The brief highlights conservation and animal welfare concerns, noting that owners frequently abandon exotic pets such as the red-eared slider when they grow too large, creating ecological risks from invasive species.

To counter the illicit network, the brief recommends quarterly intelligence-sharing meetings between the Forest Department, Customs, and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. It also urges targeted checks along the Bengaluru-Chennai and Bengaluru-Mumbai transit corridors, species-identification training for field staff alongside Bannerghatta Zoo authorities, and a shared digital database to track seized animals.