No plan yet to deal with green iguanas
(CNS): While the law protecting a growing pest on the island – the green iguana – was amended in the Legislative Assembly 1 March to allow the invasive species to be controlled, eight months later the Department of Agriculture has still not produced a management plan to deal with them or any instructions for the public on how to humanely remove them from private properties. Yesterday, residents at King’s Court Britannia were appalled to see eight green iguanas that had been stunned and their legs bound behind their backs with duct tape and left in the sun, after which they may have been transported to the Yacht Club and released. Today, sources told CNS, iguanas on the Phase II Britannia property are undergoing the same treatment.
Since the law changed people are free to catch and kill green iguanas, but Mat DaCosta-Cottam, Manager – Terrestrial Ecology Unit of the DoE, told CNS that the department strongly urges people not to relocate the animals elsewhere. “It’s just a waste of time and exacerbates the problem,” he said. “There is no good place to release them and no reason to. If you’re catching an iguana on your property that means you’ve identified it as a nuisance, so by releasing them you are simply passing on the nuisance to someone else.”
He said that although the green iguana has been identified as a public nuisance and an environmental problem, no government department is mandated with dealing with them. “The onus is on property owners to take appropriate measures if they wish to remove iguanas from their land. While the iguanas a no longer protected, they should be treated humanely, and cruelty to the animals is not acceptable,” DaCosta-Cottam said.
He said the DoE gets calls every day from people about the green iguanas, and while it is not known how many there are on Grand Cayman, he believes there may be hundreds of thousands now and there have been reports that the greens have made an appearance on Cayman Brac as well.
On Thursday the King’s Court Britannia residents found the reptiles with their legs tightly bound at about 1:15pm. They said the animals were picked up around 2:30 and they were told that they would be taken to the Yacht Club for release. The Department of Agriculture animal welfare officer was called because the residents thought the method of dealing with the iguanas was cruel, but the fate of the creatures will not apparently be investigated.
Director of Agriculture Adrian Estwick told CNS that the officer “saw and spoke to complainant who stated that he convinced ‘some young lads’ to release the iguanas”. The officer was shown the pieces of tape on the ground that were used to bind the iguanas. “These so-called ‘young lads’ were not there and my officer does not have any information on them. It is assumed that the iguanas were released as they were only signs of duct tape there when the officer arrived on the scene at 2:56 pm on Thursday 28 October.”
In response to CNS questions, Estwick said that the management plan for dealing with the green iguanas, which is still in draft stage and will involve the DoE, “will address managing the over population of green iguanas in the Cayman Islands,” but did not provide a timeline for its completion or any further details.
Meanwhile, one segment of the indigenous population has found a way to deal with the pest. This local Racer (grass snake) was spotted at the Ritz this week, trying to snack on one.
Related article: Green Iguana days numbered
Category: Science and Nature
They are all the way in East End now. undoubtedly some idiot thought it was cool to bring them there and release them because i don’ think they caught the bus and since i haven’t seen any of them driving lately i can only surmise that they were released there. I kill them every chance i get because they’ll eat anything and they destroy my crops plus scare my cows and crap in their water tank. I do want to know what will happen when they start cross breeding with the local Blue Iguanas and produce a hybrid? will those offspring then attract some kind of "protected Status"
In hindsight maybe back in the eighties the "environmentalists" should have encouraged Caymanians to keep blue iguanas as pets. if we had done that maybe we would now be overun with Blue iguanas instead of Green. They also discouraged us from owning local parrots while shops imported foreign ones some which escaped and are living in the wild and crossbreeding with local parrots but thank god for Ivan, because he blew most of the bastards away.
I wonder if i could buy a blue iguana and keep it in my back yard in a cage. i’d be willing to pay up to 1000 dollars for one if it was legal to own them.
If our government don’t stop approving the destruction of our mangroves, more than Iguanas, Crocodiles and Racer Snakes will invade your properties and homes. This Government is allowing Dart, Ritz and other Rich people to destroy these wild life habitat, so they have no where to live than amongst us. This is ALL man’s fault. Don’t blame the poor animals, let them live free.
Hmm, are there any other ‘invasive species’ that those ‘good ol’ Caymanians would have treated this way? Jamaicans maybe? Americans? Auditors? Gay tourists? Preachers? Tourists? Human rights activists? new York Loan sharks? Ah, the good ol’ days…..
Most of the comments I’ve seen against reducing the Green population has been from those either mistaking them for our Blues or from cultures where the idea of consuming reptiles isn’t the norm. They consume animals, just different ones, some that I’m sure we’d scoff at, hence different cultures. Pity they haven’t found it important enough and taken the time to educated themselves with the culture they have found themselves in. For instance how many know that Mosquitoes are also an invasive species. I wonder what kind of reception this creature receives?
The only hope I’ve held out for this Green Iguana invasion was the breeding with indigenous Blue and Rock Iguanas, creating some resilient hybrid. Apparently they are different subspecies so can’t interbreed since the Greens being Tree and the Blues Rock. The Green Iguana IS a pest. Pools with kaka aside, they prefer eating fruit blossoms, flowers and young leaves, adversely affecting local produce yields and ornamental plants. There’s no significant local threats to keep them in check.
I’ll support an organised culling of the Green Iguana, putting them on menus, publishing recipes and butchering methods. With the right outlets the animals wouldn’t go to waste and a source of revenue. I know some that have started doing so and I think its $8 per lb for the meat? I’d hope to see ‘Iguana Removal Services’ in the yellow pages some time soon. For some reason the active [just this weekend] culling of the Lion Fish and putting them on the menu of some upscale restaurants has escaped the same uproar for the greens. Culturally speaking reptiles have been a part of the diet in this region from before the first visitors in the 17 century. Really none of us would be on this Island if people didn’t use it for a source of this type of food.
Save Money and Feed them to the inmates at Northward
I wonder what would happen if a few rabbits were let go?
It worked well in Australia. And they are now experiencing unprecidented growth while we struggle.
Better hang on to them as a food source. We made need it to augment the fish, conch and whelks.
I used to harvest of around CI$5.000.00 a year from pumkins,now the lizzards have taken over. I have tried the spray,the powder,the oils. They continue to eat.
Let me have the laws to protect my little piece of farming .
KILL Those UGLY CREATURES
They serve no propous, am killing any one them that comes in my sight.
Regardless of what color they maybe, that’s the bottom line regardless whom like it or not.
I at least hope you’re referring to iguanas
I hear they "taste like chicken" In reality, they are "range fed" and probably could count as organic meat. Perhaps they can be harvested humanely and eaten. If lion fish can be promoted as food to help control them, why not these?
And with the price of turtle going up to astronomical prices, this could be an alternative… our other National Dish!!
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Ghandi
I would be a bit suspect or concerned of that photo showing what is purported to be a local grass snake trying to ingest an iguana.
Our local grass snake is not generally known as a constrictor, which the snake in the photo obviously is. Also, the iguana does not appear to be a juvenile, thus making it of relatively reasonable size. It is quite unlikely that a common Cayman grass snake would be of such a size so as to capture an iguana of that size.
So if the photo is not doctored like a similar photoshop version which was circulating recently and that scene was indeed shot at the Ritz, perhaps the DoE or DOA should be consulted because it could be a new, larger species of snake. There is no question that non-indeginous species have been unintentionally imported in soil, plants, etc. over the years and there have been few developments as large as the Ritz property, which would be a pirme candidate for such imports. Not unlike the problem Florida is now experiencing with pythons, albeit from a different source.
Really worth checking out to head-off a possible problem.
CNS: The DoE was consulted in the identification of the snake.
It is a grass snake, or Racer as their family is more commonly known. The picture is not doctored. It was taken by somone playing golf at the NorthSound Golf Club earlier this year or late last year and measured around six feet in length.
I have personally caught them that big before. Not only do they act like constrictors as per the photo, but when they are carrying eggs they also act like cobras, by coiling up and striking.
This photo as the person above has stated was not doctored and it was taken at the ritz but but not on the golf course it was right by the Great lawn to the left of the Ritz it was also taken very recently on the 27th October.
I am struggling with the ‘humane’ treatment part. They are a PEST.
I will run keep running them over (too fast and gross to catch.
I’ve trained my dog not to kill them, and I’ll bet I could train you.
To all of the bleeding hearts iguana huggers, please understand something. The green iguanas are not indigenous to these islands, they have been inported from Central America. As little as 10 years ago it was a novelty to see these on the island now they have reproduced at alarming rates so as to have been deemed a pest. That says something. If you don’t get it yet, perhaps after they have invaded all areas of the island and bred with our indigenous blueiguana, the very rare and protected species, thereby creating some ‘bastard’ breed which is of little ecological consequence then maybe you will get it. What will be the point at that stage?? So, may I break it down simply:
Blue Iguana – indigenous, rare, protected. These are NOT the iguanas you see all over the place.
Green iguana – imported, prolific,common, pest, fair game. If things get really bad and 2012 doesn’t quite end it all, then we’ll eat these and the wild chickens.
Get it??
Dear not an iguana hugger,
I think what a lot of huggers are reacting to is the joy and zeal that some posters have in a chance to slaughter something. Get It?
Greens, and iguanas generally, can travel to islands and populate them by natural means, especially as a result of storm activity.
what thing of any sort are really "from here"? most people i have met are from away. sure i have a softspot for endemic species’ , but the world will evolve till the sun grows to twice it’s size and fry everything on this planet. more things became extinct before humans were here than will ever exist here again (the planet). if humans have sullied up the "natural" way of things…so what? we are part of the process…let’s eat some green iguana! and if it’s a pest…$8 per pound is a rediculously high price
Judging by the number of the thumbs up to agreement with the way these animals are treated, it proves the point that the world is still full of primitive dorks that have no sense of feeling for anything living.
I will bet these same people slap their wife and kids around and kick dogs just to prove they are"men".
As for Dodo, your response is a bit pathetic, considering humans destroy more "flora and fauna" than the Green Iguanas do on this Island and as for "Poop in the swimming pool" what a shame, you obviously have notwalked the beautiful beach’s after Easter weekend camping and come across the human "poop" and old diapers etc left for all.
And you think Iguanas are dirty and destructive. Get a grip on reality!
If we need to cull the Green Iguanas, lets do it properly and humanely, Joe Blogs should NOT have the right to take or kill ANY animal in the way he thinks is fit.
D.O.A. this is your job to ensure humane culling. Do your job!
How do they live here without a permit and the associated inflated fees?
I kill them any time, any place and any how I can. Seems like some people want to give them status too.
you are a mighty hunter. why do you kill them?
If you want to blame something or somebody for all this, it would have to be the DoA as apparently they do not have a plan for just about anything. First they allow pet stores and private people to import just about any exoticanimal they want, later to discover that was not such a good idea but then leave it up to the general populus to clean up the mess that they allowed to happen in the first place. The result as to how the general populus "solves" the problem needs no further explanation as it literally stares you in the face no matter where you go. How responsible can one get? And if you think anybody is going to clean up the smashed animals from the roads, whether they be iguana’s or chickens for that matter, that too is up to the private individual in most cases usually because of the fine odor they leave behind after a day or so rotting in the hot sun. A lot of them become a permanent part of the pavement as we all know and have seen.
But this is not about assigning blame, it’s a little too late for that now anyhow but to allow people to simply tie or cut them is hardly a proper solution. This must be a controlled humane effort like they do in Florida as I have explained in a previous article by assigning licensed hunters with air driven rifles after which time they can be treated similar as we do to turtles, lion fish etc. and put them on the menu if one so wishes to make them part of the food chain. The current "method" could be described as close to barbaric as one can get but who am I to make that statement right? I am just a screwed up guy who gives a damn about the lives of others, animals in particular.
It is one thing to quickly and humanely dispatch an animal. It is entirely different from animal torture, a sure sign of mental illness. Abuse of animals does not dissipate violent emotions, but rather can fuel more violent acts, particularly against humans. The community is well-justified in their fear and loathing of the perpetrator of these acts.
why do we have to ”kill’ everything !! ?? our house is our place-and outside is there place-let them be-feed them -we came and saw them here-don’t just kill everything !.
Any time you want to adopt some iguanas, just come on over to our yard and you can help yourself.
They poop in the pool and round the sides. They dig holes and undermine the trees. And they eat all the flowers.
I’m sure they will be happy to do the same in your yard.
And shame on Brittania for passing their problem to us.
Maybe Yacht Club residents should trap iguanas and humanely release them on Brittania property.
Forgive me Father for perhaps I have sinned. This afternoon I chopped a green iguana in half. It was one of the many of his kind which inhabit the trees in my garden and crap all over the ground and my garden chairs and tables below. I have not been able to use my relaxing garden retreat for almost a year since the iguanas invaded. I must admit, that I felt a pang of guilt because even as I threw it away it did not appear to be dead. Certainly dying.
It was a juvenile creature, not near large enough for consumption otherwise I would have called one of my friends who I know actually eat these. Personally, I haven’t gotten around to eating our national dish – turtle – yet after being on this earth for more than 50 years, so I don’t plan on eating the lizard anytime soon.
That is my confession.
you are a little bit sick
But a lot of bit right!!!
right as a crazed mental patient… on the loose
Anyone who could write this, is a truly sick person.
For real. What a terrible image. Oddly enough green iguanas on the Brac & Little Cayman are a social icon. When will all the non-inclusive ignorance end? On the property & neighbourhood iguanas are everywhere. I had to be territorial with a few a while back,but they dont destroy anything here. Once you blend with them & acknowledge their existence they all become pets & amazingly having this etiquette with them seems to carry over to every offspring once the etiquette is applied.
speaking of ignorance, there are no green iguanas on the Brac or Litle Cayman
CNS note: The Crown has confused the green iguanas with the native rock iguanas which are found on the Sister Islands. There have been sightings of green iguanas on Cayman Brac but just a few at this point, I believe.
Very cruel treatment. I live in a location that has 15-20 iguanas, yes they crap but it’s not a big deal, we steal their land and then complain when they have no choice but to live where do?? come on people, they have controls, we drive over enough of them with our cars, our domestic animals kill them, wild cats and dogs kill them, now we deliberately kill them, bull*hit that’s what it is!
WE STEAL THEIR LAND???
I have lived in Cayman my entire life. I have gone from loving catching a glimpse of an iguana (BLUE) to hating the invading iguanas (GREEN) that have only recently arrived on our shores and are taking over.
THEY ARE STEALING MY LAND!!!
get a grip dude…it’s just a lizard. Next you’ll feel your job and safety are threatened……. by a lizard. sheeesh
Wickedness!! Hope you all burn in hell for treating them like that!!
Very sad case this is.
A few months back for some reason a badly injured green iguana ran into my house for cover of our neighbors dog who bit him up, I rushed the iguana to the vet and they told me that there was not much they can do for him seeing that he was a green iguana, they might just put him down.
That is a load of crap, the are living and breathing just like us, they don’t harm in a life threatening way, we should treat them just as we do our personal pets.
This looks like you are all the animals and they are the innocents.
Tell that to the snake, while you’re at it.
the snake is acting naturally. The people on this thread that brag of killing are sad cases that are off course and don’t even know it.
Can you say the same about the lion fish? Is the iguana indigenous? I don’t condone cruelty to any animal, they should be dealt with humanely. If they are a threat to indigenous species then they need to be dealt with. If not and they are not a nuisance then leave them be.
I agree. I think the way we treat other creatures on this planet is just a manifestation of the way we think of other people here and ultimately the way we think of ourselves. When I see the level of un-awareness and selfishness (yes, even in me) I don’t really get too excited about the time(geological time) left here for humans, or maybe the planet. I will venture to guess that the iguanas will out last us.
Not really anything to do about it other than make peace with yourself.
How do you treat your food? How much of it do you kill yourself?
They got eaten to extinction in places like Nicaragua. Why not export the meat.Or set up a Cayman handbag and shoe factory.
how some people treat these animals is a sin! God does not sleep nor slumber!
i wish the person who did this to the iguans was tied up like this…….bet he wouldn’t do that again….
again I ask the qustion where is the scientific research or proof that iguanas are a pest?
if this is proven, then humane ways of culling the numbers should be sanctioned
The "scientific proof" they are a pest is the regular piles of excrament they leave in and around many of the island’s pools. Perhaps you have not had the chance to experience this, but it is nothing short of disgusting and costly as you have to clean the pool professionally as they are carriers of bacteria and diseases.
I don’t condone tying them up cruelly, but I do support anyone humanely terminating them and will continue to exercise my right to protect my property from their damage.
how much damage does their excrement (fertilizer) do, compared to say, bulldozing for a house… or a housing development… or say a parking lot on the beach so folks can get drunk and enjoy nature. Dearie me, it seems that people are the real disgusting ones and also, carriers of bacteria and disease. Just because you build a pool, doesn’t seem to me to give you license to eradicate a species.
So if I bring in a species of giant rat that breeds prolifically, craps "fertilizer" all over the place and eats everything in site, you will have no problem???
THESE ARE NOT INDIGENOUS ANIMALS!!!
The reason they are doing so well in their population explosion is they have no natural preditors here – so MAN steps up to the plate…
Don’t believe me? Let them keep breeding at their current rate – there were only a handful as few as 5 years ago – and then watch them eat eveything in site – all the flowers, shrubs, etc. They we will HAVE to build houses to fill the vacant wasteland…
And go swim in a toilet for an idea of how disgusting they are.
I am not trying to eradicate a species – just control one that is out of control.
By the way, if I crap on your lawn, is that fertilizer too? Or will you call the police???
Dear Pain,
Bring in the giant rats and I will then let you know if it’s a problem for me. I thought we were talking about iguanas here.
There were a lot of them 10 years ago, so I’m not sure where your counting.
The problem I have with you crapping in my lawn (and I want you to stop by the way) is that your diet of cheese burgers, cheap beer and bad p—-y creates a rather toxic, noxious dung that burns my turf. Plus, it’s just a rather pathetic sight in the culture I was raised in.
As far as ‘MAN steps to the plate’ well, for once I am speechless.
The beach here is a toilet as far as I’m concerned, what with lazy, drunk jack-holes leaving their party supplies in the sand. MAN steps up to the plate …. indeed he do.
I don’t know if I would call the police, but I wouldn’t cut you in half and throw youyr wiggling body in the trash.
I live in West Bay and 2 of my 3 neighbors throw crap in my yard all the time. No I don’t call the police, I assume it a cultural thing so I put up with it and assimilate, in hopes of getting status some day and then running for premier. Then the world will be mine! If I win that is.
what to hell is this eat everything in site (sic) stuff? A phobia perhaps.
And forget the giant rats, I just dumped mine pair out on the Mastic trail. err what used to be the Mastic trail.
Here’s my suggestion, which will kill 2 birds with 1 stone:
Put a bounty on them. There are a lot of unemployed individuals these days, so with a price tag on the Green Iguana, that’s a days work right there. I puts food on the table and gets rid of a pesky problem at the same time.
what does that mean …. "my property"?
Are you raising the Marxist angle?
Buddhist actually. Anatta.
so if an animal defecates around your pool you have the right to kill it???
your scientific reasoning is amazing!
Try it and see what happens, animal!!
I agree with you. They are a pest and leave a mess ! If our archaeic laws were refreshed we might be allowed to have a pellet gun and take them out humanely ! As it is I have to create something to removethem. They are gross and a nuisance and I cant wait to see them gone. Go to Safehaven and you will see how overrun we really are with these creatures.
Setup an Iguana farm and harvest their meat for sale locally and in Honduras, this is no joke people do eat them so waste not want not. By the way (re: above picture) that looks more like a romantic embrace, than a death struggle – maybe there is some cross species breeding going on….remember now thats a Cayman "snake" and we all know what damage a Cayman "snake" can do
Yes, this nice friendly snake is just giving me a big old cuddle ……. and a great big kiss …..hey, why is my head in your head? …..is that how they do it in France? ….it’s very dark in here ….. can I come out now? ……..mphl muphle mum mmm ……
That’s the way theytie them up in Central America, somebody was getting them ready for a cooking.
Dude must have returned, after prepping the pot only to find the main course for tonights dinner gone.
Here is how I remove them from my property;
1. Catch them
2. Cut their head, hands and feet off
3. Skin them from head to tip of tail; relatively easy to peel.
4. Cut into small pieces, much like what you might do with a barracuda, turbot, or oxtail
5. Season to taste; seasoned salt, balck pepper etc
6. Decide on flavour of dish; curry, rundown, fried, baked.
7. Call your friends and tell them to bring beer and dominoes
8. Let the session begin
You should walk along the canals in Prospect. You will be having alot of domino sessions. Please come rangling here! LOL.
As for them "not" being a pest. They have eaten all my vegetables and all of my mom’s flowers! Mmmmmm yep they are becoming a pest. Down with the Green. Up with the Blue!
All I have noticed is these green guys laying around in the sun and eating grass. Yes they may defecate on the sidewalk and occasionally run out in the road but I have yet to see or hear of one attacking a small child. I’m quite curious what would cause these guys to be considered a pest and make people want to remove them from their property. Can someone please enlighten me?
Because they are an invasive species they will decimate the local flora and fauna possibly pushing some species to extinction. The Blue Iguana, which is indigenous, is already close to extinction and doesn’t need any more pressure. Plus they poop in swimming pools.
ahem… humans are the ultimate invasive species… any suggestions?
And…they also poop on the grass and sidewalks, and sometimes they even stop to rest under the tires of passing cares, carelessly designating the area of impact as their final resting spot, which in turn leaves lingering stench…maybe we could turn it into an exotic dish like they are doing with the lion fish and make some money from locals as well as visitors??? Hot damn!! if i knew how to cook them, I would probably be a Bajillyunaire by now!!!
Apparently so was the Caiman croc but we just decimated them along with the turtle…..but hey we have a farm now!!
So if a green one mates with a blue (looks like it on the picture) how many generations does it take for it to be indigenous or do we have to call it a paper blue iggie?
where do you get your info from?
as far as i know there has been no research on the impact of green iguanas on caymans eco system
I can guarantee if there was, it would be resoundingly negative – obviously you have not seen their impact…
just what is your guarantee??
I’m lost. who are we talking about here that will ‘decimate (take 1/10 BTW) the local flora and fauna’ Dartco, the premier, any number of developers???
Time to wake up and stop being afraid of insects
How many indigenous plants did you hand rear to plant around the house/apartment you live in? Last time I checked, Dart had planted nothing but local flora around their developments…
God bless him. I weep with joy.
by the way, how’s the job going?
I hope "humane" will not prevent "dead." Is a whack on the head with a machete humane enough?
they do it in Bodden Town to humans. Do you consider that humane enough?
The eat everything green. leaves, flowers young fruit. very destructive.
They are very speedy and hard to catch. Luckily I have not found one able to out run a bullet yet, though the recognise when they are being watched and try to escape or hide.
I always give them away to people who eat them. They are now in high demand. should be under control shortly if more people started using them in this very useful way.
As for those people who care more for animals than humans, you become a vegan if you like but don’t dare try to force others to, as you don’t want to be forced to eat animals.
that’s a bit SIMPLISTIC to talk about people who care more for animals than humans. I would be willing to bet all the money that I have taken from this country that someone that cares about animals cares more about humans than some one that take pleasure in killing animals such are yourself.
If you care so much about people, maybe you should stop with the silly threats