At the Katabon pet shop market, you can buy a pair of gold fish or a pair of Munia at less than a hundred taka. Or if you have an eye for a rare Australian blue and gold Macaw, you can spend as high as Tk 4 lakh.

"We have sold one (Macaw) recently at Tk 4 lakh," said Mohammad Badrul Howlader, owner of Bird Lovers' Corner. "It was 1.5 feet long and I had to keep it at home till it was sold."

A pair of black and red Kakatuwa cost around Tk 80,000 at this popular pet shop market.

Most of the shopkeepers said although most of the birds they sell are local, the animals and fish are all imported from Germany, England, America, Singapore and Thailand.

"These fishes cost Tk 1.5 lakh a pair," said a shopkeeper of Ocean World as he pointed to a pair of one-foot long silver colour fish. "They eat tortoise meat and are called King Sing," he said but could not specify their origin.

"Dogs such as Rotweiler and Saint Bernard cost from Tk 50,000 to Tk 1 lakh" said Jahangir, co-owner of Birds Lovers' Corner. "A Persian cat costs Tk 15,000 at my shop," he added.

The shop-owners usually import these expensive pets after receiving orders from the customers. "Even if local varieties are attractive in appearance, people would not spend money on them," added Jahangir.

Private owners sometimes sell locally bred foreign species to the pet shops. The shop-owners say they buy a puppy at around Tk 5,000 from the private owners and keep 20 percent profit on sale.

A domestic shorthaired cat of a foreign breed costs Tk 1,500 while kittens cost between Tk 500 and Tk 1,000. Japanese carps that are four-inch long cost Tk 600. A pair of local parrots costs Tk 400.

The shop-owners say they bring food for the birds and animals from Kaptanbazaar, Shahbagh and Jinjira. Dogs are given boiled meat and cats are given milk and rice. Birds are fed grains and fishes are fed insects.

Zayed Hasan, at Discovery pet shop said the number of customers has been on decline in recent years. "Rare species are either on the verge of extinction or too expensive for customers to afford," he said.

Bazlur Rahman, general secretary of the Aquarium and Pet Shops Association at Katabon said that the sale of wildlife is prohibited in the country. So they sell the birds bred in cages, which is not illegal.

But it is alleged that most of the shop owners violate the wildlife act by selling birds, animals and fish which are not bred in cages. When asked, the association leaders denied the allegation.