Attention all South Florida residents! Over the past few years, the state of Florida has become aware of the overpopulation of Green Iguanas throughout the state. The Green Iguana is not originally from florida, and were first spotted in Hialeah back in the 1960’s. They are an invasive species= have been given a bad reputation due to the fact that they cause harm to local vegetation, cause damage to corporate buildings and private households, and have reportedly been eating a certain kind of snail named the “tree snail” which happen to be an endangered species.
However, this is not the problem to be concerned about. Recently, over the past year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission changed their approach on how they were going to decrease the population levels of Green Iguanas in South Florida. According to the FWC website, they have given Florida residents the okay to capture, or even kill a Green Iguana that is found on private property. Not only is this completely unsafe for the residents of South Florida, The defenseless Green Iguanas that are trying to make a home in South Florida are being exterminated by their “neighbors”.
When it comes to alternative methods of decreasing the amount of Green Iguanas in South Florida, there have been many efforts made by Florida natives in order to save our green friends. For example, there are gated communities in South Florida that have not been enforcing the “kill on sight” law, and have actually been capturing the Iguanas, and sterilizing them to prevent them from reproducing as much. Another great example of someone that is doing the right thing in terms of this epidemic is “Mike Holston” or better known as “The Real Tarzan”. Holston is a South Florida Native that has recently taken a stand on this topic in order to save the iguanas. He is certified to handle and sell invasive species, and is going around all of south florida taking iguanas in to find them permanent homes where their “neighbors” aren’t trying to kill them.So please, if you are to see a Green Iguana on your property. Do the right thing and call an FWC certified wildlife trapper that can be found using this webiste https://public.myfwc.com/HGM/NWT/NWTSearch.aspx.
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