Green iguanas, along with 13 native species and other non-native species, have been added to the Forestry Bureau’s list of animals that must be officially registered if they are to be kept and bred.
The iguanas are “exotic wildlife dangerous to the environment, people or animals,” the bureau said on Thursday amid growing concerns over the damage the lizards are doing to the environment when released into the wild.
Green iguanas, which are indigenous to South and Central America, have become popular pets in Taiwan and other nations, but the bureau said that many people in Taiwan who find themselves unable or unwilling to care for them have abandoned them in the wild.
Photo: Chen Wen-chan, Taipei Times
However, without natural predators in the nation, their numbers have quickly grown, causing agricultural losses and damage to roads and riverbanks, the bureau said.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) an official permit is required before any of the animals on the list can be imported, sold or displayed.
Those who have been raising green iguanas or any of the other species on the list must register them with their local governments from Tuesday next week to Nov. 30 or be fined NT$10,000 to NT$60,000 and face the loss of the creature.
The bureau said it has modified the list based on discussions with experts earlier this year and taking into account the results of monitoring species in the wild, and the threat and commercial exploitation the animals face.
Among the native species added to the list are the endangered Chinese box turtle and seven types of birds, including the yellow-breasted bunting, Taiwan rosefinch and collared bush-robin, while the non-native species include the Chinese crocodile lizard, the pig-nosed turtle and the black-breasted leaf turtle, the bureau said.
However, 19 species were removed from the list, as their wild populations in Taiwan have shown stable growth, including Latham’s snipe, it said.
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