Registration to be required for green iguanas: bureauStaff writer, with CNAGreen 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. 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. However, 19 species were removed from the list, as their wild populations in Taiwan have shown stable growth, including Latham’s snipe, it said.

Source: Taipei Times August 23, 2020 15:56 UTC