Author: Daniel Parker
Adult male Green Iguana in Broward County showing winter breeding season orange coloration-Photo by Daniel Parker (Daniel Parker grants permission for this photo to be reprinted and distributed for publication)
FWC’s “Prohibited Species Rules” of 2021 essentially banned the collection of live wild Green iguanas in Florida for the pet trade, which was to that point the primary means of controlling nonnative iguana populations.
The Green iguana is native to tropical areas of the Americas from Mexico to South America. As a tag-along to global trade, it has managed to expand its range in tropical regions around the world. It is a frequent stowaway on cargo ships and even airplanes. It has been established in Florida for around 70 years.
Green iguanas thrive in habitats disturbed by humans. In South Florida, they are much more likely to be seen along sidewalks, canals, and on manicured lawns than in natural habitats like marshes and forests, which may harbor predators. Green iguanas are almost exclusively vegetarian in diet.
Green iguanas often become quite tame under human care. Their impressive appearance and often friendly personality have made them some of the most popular pet lizards in the world. They may live over 20 years as pets or display animals. However, prospective keepers must be sure to educate themselves on the eventual large size and specific care requirements of these lizards.
Florida’s reptile distributors have reported exporting numbers of iguanas in the hundreds of thousands per year prior to the ban. In the decades preceding FWC’s action in 2021, the total of wild Florida iguana exports likely numbered in the millions.
Reports by scientists, observations by citizens, and the increase in iguana-related content in the media suggests an exploding iguana population in Florida. If the goal of the Prohibited Species rules was to reduce the number of nonnative reptiles in the wild in Florida, it has been a dismal failure.
Since being appointed Executive Director of FWC in 2023, Roger Young has expressed an interest in expanding the ability of collectors to remove iguanas from wild in Florida for sale and export out of state. The United States Association of Reptile Keepers Florida (USARK FL) recognizes this as an opportunity to work with FWC on a solution which could have both economic and conservation benefits to Florida.
Joe Hiduke of USARK FL represents Terrestrial Pet Keepers on FWC’s Nonnative Species TAG-Photo by Daniel Parker (Daniel Parker grants permission for this photo to be reprinted and distributed for publication)
Representatives of Florida’s animal industries, including zoo keepers, farmers, and pet advocates, met with FWC staff at a Technical Assistance Group (TAG) meeting at University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Lab in Ruskin on December 5, 2024. FWC staff presented potential rule changes to make certain allowances for collection, sale, and export of Green iguanas.
Unfortunately, the provisions presented by FWC staff were onerous to the point that few people would be incentivized to participate. Provisions requiring the marking of individual animals, reporting of exact locations of animals collected, time frames restricting how long animals may be kept, and costly cage security requirements will ensure that very few people would undertake the burden.
Representatives on the committee suggested that FWC staff create a more serious proposal, with some even saying that this process would be a waste of time if the new program is wrapped in so much red tape that nobody wants to collect iguanas.
FWC’s Prohibited Species Rules led to a rash of confiscation and euthanasia of pet reptiles by FWC law enforcement. The most well-known example of this was the “Holy Thursday Massacre” in April of 2023, when FWC law enforcement officers confiscated and killed a pet Reticulated python from 16-year-old Onya Golightly and then killed over 30 pythons and legally kept Boa constrictor at the facility of Chris Coffee and Bill McAdam. The Boa was pregnant with over 30 babies, which also perished. This event was extensively covered by worldwide media.
Even with new leadership at FWC, reptile keepers still do not fully trust FWC staff and officers that enforce their rules. Reptile collectors and businesses are unlikely to participate in any program that is overly complicated and could place them in legal jeopardy, especially with an agency that has seemed to display a “gotcha” attitude with our community in the past.
If FWC would like to enlist our help in reducing Florida’s wild Green iguana populations, we would be happy to have the conversation. For our community to participate, the program needs to be simple and free of the unreasonable red tape which seems to encircle every package presented by FWC’s bureaucrats. Otherwise, the millions of iguanas that we used to remove will continue to thrive and breed in the wild in Florida.
For more info, please see this video on USARK FL’s YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/M8G4JdZp_C4?si=Vkpck35Je7hEtb3K
For more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview, please contact Daniel Parker, USARK FL Director of Media, at 863-441-5067 or email media@usarkfl.net.
Also contact:
Michael Cole
Owner,Ball Room Pythons South
863-325-5208
ballroom@tampabay.rr.org
Curt Harbsmeier
Attorney, Harbsmeier Law Group LLC
863-640-7484
charbsmeier@hdalaw.com
