Exotic Fauna states on its website that "the utmost care is taken with breeding and handling" the animals, and its processes were "100 percent" compliant with international protocols on wildlife trade.
According to Eduardo Sacasa, president of Nicaragua's national zoo, as long as the animals are not taken from the wild and are bred at centers such as Exotic Fauna that recreate their natural environment, "it is not bad."
Added Talavera's husband, Lacayo: "We take from nature once, only once, and we breed the product that we export."
But the NGO People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which advocates for an end to the trade in exotic species, says the practice is cruel and many would-be "pets" never survive the journey to their new home.
"Those who do survive often suffer in captivity and die prematurely from malnutrition, an unnatural and uncomfortable environment, loneliness, and the overwhelming stress of confinement," PETA states on its website.
