Puerto Rico, plagued by iguanas for years, is taking a violent stand against the ubiquitous reptiles.
The government is proposing an iguana eradication project that would both eliminate the long-time nuisances, and bolster the territory’s lackluster economy by exporting the reptiles’ meat for as much as $6 a pound.
“That is a lot more than chicken,” said Daniel Galan Kercado, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources. “It has great economic potential.
The reptiles have cost the U.S. territory hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by sunbathing on San Juan’s airport runways and disrupting traffic; causing power outages by building nests near power plants and wrecking building foundations by burrowing holes underneath them.
The Department of Health approved Galan’s plan to train volunteers to capture live iguanas and bring them to a processing center where they can be killed and prepared for export. The complete plan is expected to be finalized by May, when it will be presented to several government agencies for final approval.
Full story here: Puerto Rico proposes iguana eradication plan