MEERUT: As the March 15 deadline set by the Union government to declare possession of exotic species draws closer, not just pet owners but most of the forest department staff is not sure what species are listed in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The department is now racing against time in trying to train its frontline workers to identify the species.
The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) had last year issued an advisory asking owners of exotic species to voluntarily disclose information about their pets on the government’s Parivesh portal. Owners were told that if they uploaded the information within the stipulated time, they would not have to produce any documents related to their exotic pets.