Nicaragua earned USD 7.6 million from exporting more than 50,000 exotic animals in the first nine months of the year, according to the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Marena), which announced the figures on its social media channels. The shipments consisted of wildlife bred in authorized zoocriaderos (wildlife breeding centers) and were sent to markets in Asia, North America and Europe.
- Revenue and volume: USD 7.6 million from more than 50,000 specimens of wildlife, as reported by Marena for the January–September period.
- Destinations: Thailand, France, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, with Germany, the United Kingdom and Taiwan also cited as regular buyers.
- Species involved: frogs, lizards, snakes and turtles, acquired mainly as pets.
- Legal framework: exports were covered by permits from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).
Cites permits and the reach of Nicaragua's wildlife trade
Marena said it issued Cites permits between January and September that authorized the departure of more than 50,000 specimens of wild fauna, generating the reported USD 7.6 million. The agency did not specify how many animals of each species left the country or the individual value of operations by destination.
The animals were shipped to Thailand, France, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Authorities also listed Germany, the United Kingdom and Taiwan among the usual destinations for this type of export from Nicaragua. The trade is concentrated in markets where reptiles, amphibians and other tropical species are in demand as pets; Marena's information places Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and Taiwan among the main buyers.
Which species are most sought after
The list of exported species included the red-eyed tree frog, the green gallego, the arrow frog, the glass frog, the green pichete (a type of lizard), the flat-tailed gecko, the common boa and the savanna turtle.
Marena identified the red-eyed green frog, the arrow frog, the camouflaged frog, the green gallego and the false coral as among the animals most in demand in international trade. The green pichete, the flat-tailed gecko and the tiger gecko also appear on the list.
Breeding centers and sustainability claims
The Nicaraguan government maintained that the exports complied with Cites criteria and national regulations on wildlife management. According to Marena, the scheme aims to reconcile the sale of captive-bred animals with sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity conservation.
Nicaragua has nine zoocriaderos registered with the environment ministry, six of which are dedicated to export. These facilities breed wildlife species under state authorization for later sale abroad. The institution notes that exotic animals form part of Nicaragua's biological diversity; the tropical country hosts more than 12,400 species of fauna, according to official data cited by EFE.
The Marena report reveals a consolidated export business sustained by demand for exotic pets in Asia, Europe and North America. Yet the absence of a breakdown by species and destination makes it impossible to measure each market's weight precisely or the real impact of this activity on wild populations. The next step for authorities would be to disclose those figures and demonstrate that the breeding-center model meets the conservation standards it claims.