Don’t ‘just go and shoot them up,’ state says about iguanas

Wildlife commission provides clarity after national ridicule

After enduring national criticism for calling on homeowners to kill green iguanas, the Florida wildlife commission issued a statement this week attempting to clarify its policy.

“Unfortunately, the message has been conveyed that we are asking the public to just go out there and shoot them up,” Rodney Barreto, a member of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a written statement. “This is not what we are about; this is not the ‘wild west.’ If you are not capable of safely removing iguanas from your property, please seek assistance from professionals who do this for a living.”

Like many of the invasive species that slither, swim and crawl around the state, iguanas arrived through the exotic pet industry. Ball pythons, Argentine tegus and many other non-native animals can be legally bought in Florida at reptile shows, pet stores and over the internet for live delivery by overnight mail. And despite the state’s support for killing iguanas, it’s still legal to buy them.

“Even aside from the question of how often the killing truly meets humane standards — which the FWC does not readily provide — this manages again

and again to miss the central point,” said Barbara J. King, professor emerita of anthropology at the College of William and Mary and author of books on animal cognition and emotion, who had written to the state to protest its iguanakilling policy. “It’s banning the commercial import, sale, and breeding of the iguanas in Florida that would be the effective and ethical action to take.”

Although the wildlife commission in February banned private ownership of several non-native species, it allows the vast majority of exotic pets to continue to be sold in Florida.

“The pet trade is a main reason why these iguanas end up roaming in the wild, and it should be regulated,” King said. “It’s completely disingenuous of the FWC to claim that it’s working in the best interest of Florida’s citizens when it won’t do what is required by a commitment to both conservation science and to the compassionate treatment of animals.”

The state recently said that it was too late to ban iguana sales, since the species had thoroughly colonized parts of Florida.

“Since iguanas are already well-established in the state, agency efforts for this species currently focus on mitigating negative impacts,” wildlife commission spokeswoman Jamie Clift Rager said last week.

JOHN MCCALL/SUN SENTINEL The wildlife commission has clarified its iguana policy.