Is the Indian star tortoise illegal to keep?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Yes. The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 lists the Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) in Schedule I, the Act's highest protection, and in Appendix I of Schedule IV. Catching, buying, selling or keeping one without the Chief Wild Life Warden's written permission is an offence, and it cannot be registered as a pet.
If you already have one, do not release it and do not sell it on. Contact your state's Chief Wild Life Warden's office or the nearest forest office, explain how you came to have it, and ask how to hand it over.
What does the law say about star tortoises?
Two listings, and a rule that says which one wins.
The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, published in the Gazette of India on 20 December 2022, substituted new Schedules. The Indian star tortoise, Geochelone elegans, appears under turtles and tortoises in Schedule I. It also appears in Appendix I of Schedule IV, the list that reproduces the CITES appendices for international trade.
New section 49R settles the overlap: where a species is in Schedule I or II and also in Schedule IV, the provisions for Schedule I or II apply, and the Schedule IV registration duty in section 49M does not. So a star tortoise is treated as a Schedule I animal, not as an exotic pet to be registered.
Section 9 of the Act says no person shall hunt any wild animal in Schedules I and II, and the Act's definition of hunting includes capturing, snaring and trapping, and every attempt to do so. Section 40 adds that no one may acquire, keep, sell or transport a Schedule I animal except with the previous written permission of the Chief Wild Life Warden or an authorised officer.
How did the star tortoise end up in Schedule I?
Its protection was raised as evidence of the trade grew.
Before 2022
The star tortoise was listed in Schedule IV of the old Act, a lower level of protection. TRAFFIC
September 2009 to September 2019
TRAFFIC counted 1,11,312 Indian tortoises and freshwater turtles in illegal trade from 348 seizure cases, more than 11,000 a year. TRAFFIC
2019
TRAFFIC noted India's success in getting the star tortoise uplisted to Appendix I of CITES, restricting international trade, and argued for moving it to Schedule I at home. TRAFFIC
20 December 2022
The Amendment Act's new Schedule I lists the star tortoise, and Schedule IV lists it in Appendix I. Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)
How heavily is the star tortoise traded?
From TRAFFIC's 2019 factsheet on seizures in India.
You have a star tortoise, or someone is offering one. What now?
If A shop, website or person offers you a star tortoise
Do not buy it. Acquiring a Schedule I animal without the Chief Wild Life Warden's written permission is an offence, whatever the seller says. MP Forest Department (copy of the Act, pre-2022 text)
If You already keep one, bought or given to you
Contact your state Chief Wild Life Warden's office or the nearest forest office and ask how to hand it over. A wild animal kept in captivity against the Act becomes government property. MP Forest Department (copy of the Act, pre-2022 text)
If You found one on a road or in a garden
Move it out of danger if you must, but do not take it home. Note the place, take a photo and call the forest department or a wildlife helpline. MP Forest Department (copy of the Act, pre-2022 text)
If The seller says it is 'captive bred' or 'registered under the 2024 Rules'
Those Rules register Schedule IV species. Section 49R says they do not apply to a species that is also in Schedule I, which the star tortoise is. Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)
What do sellers and old articles get wrong?
You may have read
Star tortoises are only Schedule IV, so they are easy to keep.
Myth
What the sources say
That was the old numbering. The 2022 amendment lists the star tortoise in Schedule I. Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)
You may have read
It is fine if you register it with the forest department.
Myth
What the sources say
The registration route in section 49M is for Schedule IV species. Section 49R excludes species also listed in Schedule I. Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research)
You may have read
Releasing it in a park sets things right.
Myth
What the sources say
The Act treats a wild animal kept against it as government property, so the forest department, not the keeper, decides where it goes. Hand it over instead. MP Forest Department (copy of the Act, pre-2022 text)
You may have read
They are bred for the pet trade, so they are not taken from the wild.
Myth
What the sources say
TRAFFIC's seizure records show star tortoises are poached and trafficked, both within India and abroad for the pet trade. TRAFFIC
What is the penalty for keeping a star tortoise?
Section 51 of the Act, as amended in 2022, sets imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both, for the general offence. Offences involving Schedule I animals carry a term of at least three years and up to seven, with a fine of at least twenty-five thousand rupees, and the 2022 amendment extended the higher range to offences involving species in Appendix I of Schedule IV. The star tortoise is in both.
These are the maximum and minimum terms the Act sets, not a prediction of what happens in any case. If you have a star tortoise and are worried, the sensible first step is to contact the forest department and, if needed, a lawyer.
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Questions owners ask
Can I get a licence to keep an Indian star tortoise?
- Not as a pet. Section 40 of the Act allows a Schedule I animal to be kept only with the Chief Wild Life Warden's previous written permission, which is not a pet licence. The 2024 registration Rules for exotic animals do not apply, because section 49R excludes species that are also in Schedule I.
Is the star tortoise in Schedule I or Schedule IV?
- Both, in a sense. The 2022 amendment lists it in Schedule I and in Appendix I of the new Schedule IV, which reproduces the CITES appendices. Section 49R says the Schedule I provisions apply where a species is in both, so it is protected as a Schedule I animal.
Are sulcata or other foreign tortoises legal?
- Exotic tortoises are not in Schedules I or II, but every tortoise species is in Appendix I or II of Schedule IV. That means they must be reported and registered with the forest department within 30 days of getting them under the 2024 Rules. See our turtle answer for details.
What should I do if I see star tortoises for sale?
- Do not buy them, and report the sale to your state forest department or its wildlife crime contact with the place, date and photographs if you can take them safely. TRAFFIC's data show star tortoises are the most seized species among Indian tortoises and turtles.
Keep reading
- Is it legal to keep a turtle in India?Every native turtle and the exotic species.
- Is the red-eared slider legal in India?
- Can you keep a wild animal as a pet in India?
- Animal cruelty law in India
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Gazette of India (copy hosted by PRS Legislative Research): The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 (No. 18 of 2022), published 20 December 2022 (opens in a new tab)
- MP Forest Department (copy of the Act, pre-2022 text): The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (opens in a new tab)
- TRAFFIC: Tortoises and freshwater turtles under siege: factsheet on illegal trade in India, September 2009 to September 2019 (opens in a new tab)