Taiwan culls over 36,000 green iguanas in first 4 months of 2025

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) More than 36,000 green iguanas have been culled since a campaign to eliminate the invasive species was launched at the beginning of this year, around three times the number in the same period of 2024, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA) reported Wednesday.

To battle the threat of the species to ecosystems and agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in collaboration with local governments launched the campaign, the agency said in a statement.

The current period is a crucial time to control the green iguana population because they tend to breed in the dry season (from April to September) with priority given to removing mature female iguanas, destroying their nests and eggs, the agency said.

The agency has set up four teams of indigenous hunters to work together with nine professional teams commissioned by local governments to eliminate the species in the wild, it added.

According to FANCA statistics, a total of 36,543 green iguanas have been culled this year, triple the number in the same period last year.

In addition, local governments have held 15 training sessions and trained 1,635 individuals to remove or control the reptiles, the agency said.

The agency implemented a ban on the importation of green iguanas in June 2015 and classified the popular pet lizard as an invasive species in September 2020, requiring owners to register their pets and banning unauthorized breeding.

However, the green iguana population in Taiwan has continued to grow over the past few years, particularly in the south.

Green iguanas were introduced as pets to Taiwan about 20 to 30 years ago and the population has exploded since then. Around 200,000 of the reptiles are believed to be in southern and central Taiwan, according to the agency.

Taiwan began culling iguanas nearly 10 years ago and this year, the government aims to cull 120,000 of the reptiles, the agency said.

To that end, the MOA set up a green iguana control task force on Dec. 5, 2024.

It also rolled out an agricultural damage reporting app update, which includes a green iguana reporting and removal section where professionals can post information and photos of captured iguanas.

As an incentive, the ministry offers professional cullers a bounty of NT$500 (US$15.64) for every captured iguana more than 30 centimeters in length, and NT$200 for every one less than 30 cm. For the general public, the bounties for captured iguanas are half that amount -- NT$250 and NT$100.