Taipei Times
Date: Sep 19, 2019
By: Lo Hsin-chen and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Pingtung County Government’s policy of trading eco-friendly red beans for green iguanas has been
Iguanas caught by members of the public crowd a cage in Pingtung County in an undated photograph.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Department of Agriculture
Green iguanas are an invasive species that could create an imbalance in the local ecosystem, Pingtung County Department of Agriculture Director-General Huang Kuo-jung (黃國榮) said.
The uncontrolled spread of the iguanas has caused agricultural losses, damaged drainage systems, and could endanger dikes and embankments, which would threaten property and lives, Huang said.
Females can lay 20 to 70 eggs per year and their young grow fast, Huang said, adding that the most effective way to counter invasive species is to solicit public help. [FULL STORY]
