Keeping Wild Birds as Pets: What India's Law Actually Says

In this guide

Finding an injured or fledgling wild bird is common. Turning it into a pet is, in almost every case, both illegal and unwise.

It is a familiar scene in Indian cities: a fledgling myna or a young pigeon found on a balcony or under a tree, seemingly abandoned, and a well-meaning family decides to raise it themselves. The instinct is a kind one, but keeping a wild-caught native bird as a pet is, with very limited exceptions, against the law, and even where it is not strictly illegal it is rarely the right choice for the bird.

The legal position

Under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, capturing, keeping or trading almost any bird species naturally found in the wild in India is prohibited, covering everything from the common myna and house sparrow to parakeets, owls and birds of prey. This applies whether the bird was deliberately captured or simply found and kept rather than handed over to the appropriate authority. Penalties can include fines and imprisonment, and forest departments do periodically act on reports, particularly involving larger or more visibly protected species.

What to actually do if you find a wild bird

• If the bird appears injured, contact a local wildlife rescue organisation or the nearest forest department office rather than attempting to treat and keep it yourself
• If a fledgling appears to have fallen from a nest but is uninjured, it is often best left alone or placed back near the nest, since wild bird parents typically continue caring for fledglings on the ground for a period and human intervention can do more harm than good
• Keep pets and children away from the bird while you arrange help, and avoid excessive handling, which adds stress on top of whatever the bird is already dealing with
• Many Indian cities have dedicated bird rescue centres and NGOs; a quick search for wildlife rescue services in your city is usually the fastest route to proper care

Why this is genuinely better for the bird too

Hand-raising a wild bird without proper training tends to produce a bird that is poorly equipped for either life in the wild or life as a companion animal. Wild species have specific nutritional, social and environmental needs that are difficult to replicate at home, and a bird raised without its own species around it often develops behavioural problems that a rescue centre, with the right facilities and expertise, is far better placed to prevent.

If you want a bird as a pet

The appropriate route is a legally available, non-native species from an established breeder or reputable pet shop, such as a budgerigar, cockatiel, lovebird or canary, rather than a bird taken from the wild. This sidesteps the legal risk entirely and gives you a species that is genuinely suited to captive life.

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