
Scratch one lizard!
Invasion of the Iguana: Mankind Strikes Back by Terry Gibson on Outdoor Life.
Hunting the overpopulation of invasive iguana in Florida with air guns:
So far, these invaders are mostly sticking to urban areas, especially along canal systems. Feral iguanas crap all over seawalls and docks, destroy tens of thousands of dollars in landscaping, and eat native species. The City of Boca Grande, for example, has spent more than $100,000 per year for four years trying to eradicate the problem. They even had to create an “iguana tax” to pay the trappers…
Obviously, it is unsafe and illegal to shoot iguanas with any kind of gun in urban areas. Trapping and snaring works best. You’re not allowed to transport these reptiles or any other invasive species off your property. “Iguana huggers” want you to call animal rescue so these things can be “euthanized humanely.” While no one promotes animal cruelty, “cruelty” is not well defined in Florida statute. Hopefully, kill-and-grill does not constitute a crime, or I don’t think there’s much hope for us as a species.
Seriously, a $10 “iguana tag” good for a month of air gun hunting would not only help keep these critters in check, it would probably get more young folks into the shooting sports. I mean, who wouldn’t want to shoot a lizard?
Oh, yeah. It would also raise money rather than costing it. Though the majority of these things are apparently in urban areas where shooting is restricted, Murdoc would guess that there are a lot more in the wild than suspected.
Go check out the photo gallery on OL.